This is an article from "The Fine Art of Cloth Diapering". To order a copy, please visit www.kidalog.net

I debated the title of this booklet... should it be the “Fine Art” or the “Simple Art”??? And, since cloth diapering IS simple, why do we need a booklet to explain it? Well, like many good things, home cooking and baking for example, skills are forgotten because people see the “convenient” products which are highly advertised and prominenty displayed in stores. For example, foods that are extremely inferior and deficient in nutrition, sell well because of how they are marketed. Because they are cheaply produced, they make a good profit which is then ploughed back into advertising to increase demand (and their profit). Natural, basic foods don’t make huge profits for the producers..when’s the last time you saw an ad for potatoes (natural)? How about Potato Chips (highly processed)? Eventually people forget how satisfying and nutritious and economical it is to make their own foods “from scratch”.

And, they lose confidence in their own ability to do these simple things themselves. All because they have trusted the advertising put out by manufacturers who put their own profit first.
When’s the last time you saw an ad for cloth diapers, or a diaper service? Advertising is scarce because cloth diapers are an inexpensive, re-usable, natural product, so profit margins have never been big enough to pay for multi-media advertising campaigns. People who make cloth diapers or who run a diaper service are usually doing it because they have a higher purpose: to provide an economical, environmentally-friendly, and comfortable solution for baby.

How many of the “myths” listed below, have you heard from disposable diaper manufacturers? Some of these are blatant in their ads, others are more subtle because prenatal instructors, hospital staff, and other health professionals are themselves mislead and misinformed at “seminars” by disposable diaper manufacturers who fund “scientific” studies, “recycling” projects, and who supply free or deeply discounted product to hospitals and new parents to get them hooked.

Myth #1: Disposable diapers and cloth diapers are environmentally equal. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!
Fact: The Consumer’s Union of New York sued, and won, the case against a disposable manufacturer who ran an ad showing a disposable diaper growing out of a tree that implied that disposables were being composted/recycled. Composting/recycling is not economically feasible so is not taking place except for a few small test projects. However, that ad had been seen by hundreds of thousands of people, and is still believed. There was very little publicity about the lawsuit, and the disposable manufacturer never had to run ads to retract the wrong information they had presented.
Fact: A group of disposable diaper companies paid for a “scientific” life cycle analysis between disposables and cloth, which came to the conclusion that because of water used to do laundry, cloth and disposables have equal impact on the environment. Despite the fact that disposable diapers use water in the creation of the paperand other material that goes into them, that study took into account LOCAL water usage, and said that cloth diapers produce more waterborne waste. This is ludicrous because laundry water goes to water treatment plants and back into the water system. Also, household water consumption can be decreased in a variety of ways to compensate for the extra laundry loads. Keep in mind that one adult, using the toilet instead of diapers, flushing only 5-6 times a day, uses the same amount of water as washing diapers. This is 50-70 gallons every 3 days--and the amount of water used for diapers can actually be LESS than an adult using the toilet if you do not have to rinse messy diapers in the toilet (this is accomplished by using disposable diaper liners).

Fact: 2.5 tons of used diapers are left behind by just one baby diapered in disposables!

Myth #2
Expectant mothers are being led to believe that disposable diapers are “sanitary” compared to cloth. Wrong! Wrong! This is an example of the subtle brain-washing that large manufacturers have become so good at!

Fact: Firstly, the instructions on the disposable diaper package state that feces are to be rinsed and flushed. No one does that! Instead, the raw feces goes to the landfill. The diaper pails that wrap the disposables sausage-style in plastic create another problem--the mess they contain will not biodegrade for decades. Then of course there are the people who just throw the diapers into the gutter....
Manufacturers use subtle tactics to influence your buying decisions. For example disposable feminine pad manufacturers called their product “sanitary pads”--implying that cloth reusable ones are “unsanitary”. If you’ve ever had to clean up the mess created by a garbage-hunting dog who chowed down on disposable pads, you’ll realize how “unsanitary” they are! Many women are now using re-usable feminine pads which are much more comfortable, LESS smelly, and really economical. Besides that, they are good for the environment since they do not create more garbage, and since they are usually made from fabric remnants that would otherwise be thrown out, they use scanty resources.
Disposable diaper manufacturers have recently been trying hard to convince women that their product is “sanitary” and cloth diapers are “unsanitary”. Is sending 2.5 tons of feces, urine, plastic and polyacrylate gel (per baby) to the garbage dump “sanitary”? Is letting baby sit with their private parts sealed in a plastic ‘bag’ containing urine and chemicals “sanitary” or comfortable? Would YOU tolerate the feel of paper, plastic, humidity and heat around YOUR bottom for even a few minutes, let alone a couple of hours (the amount of time most parents using disposables leave baby in them)? Would you SLEEP in a plastic pant heavy with your own urine and a humid, wet, gel? Why would you do that to your baby? Do you think your skin would stay healthy when it is deprived of air, and wet most of the day? Think about what your skin looks like when you wear a plastic bandage for a couple of days... ladies, think about how you feel when wearing pads just a few days a month...

The latest gimmick is disposable baby washcloths--this is not baby wipes for the bottom but a washcloth for washing face and hands, resembling terrycloth. The slogan on the package undermines our confidence and instills doubt in our minds... it says “Fresh and clean every time”, with the words every time in italics, insinuating that if we wash our own facecloths they might not be clean! These cloths are already pre-loaded with chemicals (soap), and you just need to add water! BTW, the only time a child needs soap is if they’ve been playing in dirt or grease. Otherwise, the use of soap dries out the natural oils that protect the skin. The use of soap on a regular basis actually causes skin problems, and we do not recommend soap for baby. Even if baby has had a very messy diaper, baby’s bottom can be cleaned off very well with just warm water. Soap used on baby’s bottom will usually result in diaper rash.

Myth #3 The premium disposable diapers are the most comfortable. Wrong!
Notice that the premium disposables attempt to imitate cloth? That’s because the manufacturers know that for softness, comfort and for avoiding diaper rash, cotton is still the very best. Also, there are BREATHABLE waterproof covers available for cloth diapers--some cloth diapers even have the cover built right in so diaper changes are convenient. Plastic-covered disposable diapers do not allow air to circulate to baby’s skin, which leads to unhealthy conditions such as rashes, yeast growth, etc.

Myth #4
Disposable diaper manufacturers have come out with “studies” that show less rash for babies diapered in disposables. Balderdash!
Fact: We get calls all the time from moms with babies in disposables who have diaper rash--they want our ozonated olive oil to treat the rash. We also get calls from moms who are switching to cloth because their baby is reacting to something in the disposable diapers. And we hear stories from moms, like the one just the other day who said that the disposable had ripped a bit, some of the gel crystals had gotten into a baby girl’s clitoris, and then gotten infected, and that the doctor had to squeeze it out, while the baby girl screamed in pain.
Manufacturers tout the absorbency of their diapers, implying that they can be left on longer. Parents try to save time and money by changing less often. When we get calls about diapering problems, and we ask how often the baby is changed, many times the reply is “every 2-3 hours”! This is neglect, but likely happens because parents have been given the wrong impression by disposable manufacturers. Some parents using cloth attempt to duplicate the same changing frequency they used with disposables, by adding extra padding to the cloth diaper. We STRONGLY disapprove of this practice, which takes into consideration only the parent’s convenience (dare I say laziness?), not the baby’s health and comfort! In the days before disposable diapers, you’d get a scowl from Grandma if she noticed baby running around with a wet diaper--she knew that to keep baby’s bottom healthy, the diaper should be changed AS SOON as it is wet, REGARDLESS of how absorbent it is. Grandma taught that part of being a good mother means keeping baby dry. That’s because any amount of moisture in the diaper gives food for ammonia and yeast bacteria, not to mention feeling very uncomfortable, especially in very hot or cold weather.

Myth #5
Disposable diapers are inexpensive because they cost only a few dimes per diaper. WRONG.
FACT: The cost may not be noticed by parents, because it is added into your grocery bill. This is very clever marketing by the manufacturers. If you had to make a separate trip to the drug store or department store only for disposable diapers, you’d soon notice how much they were costing you! According to figures from a disposable diaper manufacturer, one baby diapered only in disposables will use about 5220 diapers. That will cost you about $1600. Their figures use a low figure for the average amount of daily changes, meaning that baby will be sitting in a wet diaper about half of the day. If you change baby each time he wets, to keep baby’s bottom comfortable and healthy, that figure will double and you will spend $3400.

Buying a set of cloth diapers and waterproof pants that will last you 2 1/2 years till potty training costs between $162 to $393. You can buy 36 of the deluxe fitted diapers with built-in waterproof outer layer, for $466.20. This amounts to just 52 cents per day (not including laundering).
If you’d like to stay home to raise your baby, using cloth diapers and breastfeeding will save you thousands of dollars, so instead of spending time working so you can buy diapers and formula, you can actually spend that time with baby. Hey, if you consider the savings in not having to pay for a second car/gas/insurance, babysitter, work clothes, lunches/coffee, TAXES (tax advantage if you and baby are claimed as dependants), staying at home becomes feasible. If you make morning coffee at home, home-cook meals instead of convenience foods, garden, sew, use the library instead of buying books, etc., there are big savings. And if you consider the intellectual and social advantages to your baby, that is priceless. I speak from experience, having 4 children, 3 who were at a babysitter/daycare during some of their pre-school years. (It took me a long time to get smart!) When baby is past the breastfeeding stage, some parents switch roles and dad stays at home while mom works outside. Cloth diapering can help you choose your lifestyle.

Have you heard of Diaper Free?
There is an alternative to diapers that deserves mention. It isn’t well-known because no one makes money from it, in fact, you save a lot! The “Diaper Free” method makes sense because you tune into baby’s wetting cues from birth, so that baby can be diaperless most of the time. Instead of ignoring his wetting cues and training baby to become accustomed to wet diapers, and then re-training him at the age of 2 to avoid wetting into a diaper, parents observe baby’s wetting signals from birth. More and more at-home parents are using this method. In fact, CBC radio recently did a 1/2 hour segment on Diaper Free.

I dedicate this book to all the parents who are keeping alive the FINE ART OF CLOTH DIAPERING! I hope that in these pages you will see how easy it is to keep baby comfortable, save about $3000, and avoid polluting the earth your child will inherit. Thank You! Grace