Do Your Part, How to Be and Live Green in Charlotte, NC

It's been a few years since I was on diaper duty and back then there were only two choices - cloth or disposable.  If you're trying to Do Your Part to reduce your baby's eco footprint - diapers are a difficult topic to tackle because there is no clear cut winner when it comes to their impact on the environment.  

 

Disposable diapers are the most popular because they're just flat out convenient.  But did you know that they take up 2% of our landfill space?  Babies go through roughly 7-thousand diapers.  Multiply that by the number of children you have and it adds up quickly.  If disposable is what your choice, try to buy the diapers in bulk to avoid excess packaging and you can usually recycle the box it comes in.

 

Cloth diapers are usually thought of as the greener option.  Even though they don't end up in a landfill - there are a lot of natural resources that go into washing them.  And you have to consider the cost of the water, energy, and detergent to clean them.  But many parents see it as the greener option but they don't want to give up on the convenience of disposable.  Well we found an option for you.   There's something called a pocket diaper that works like cloth but they're light years more convenient.

 

FuzziBunz makes a popular line.  If they get wet - you simply unsnap and throw the diaper and the polar fleece insert in the wash just like cloth.  But, elastic around the legs means fewer leaks than cloth.  The snaps or Velcro allow for size variations so the diaper grows with your child.  You will have to buy a few of these to get started - and they cost a little under 20 dollars a piece.  But if you throw them in a full load of wash and use eco friendly detergents - you are being about as green as you can be!

 

Doing your part often involves knowing what the choices are, even when there isn't a clear cut winner.  You'll be armed with information so you can make the best choice for your family.