Why Use Cloth?

Making the decision to use cloth diapers or menstrual pads is not an easy one.  For that matter, using cloth for adult diapers instead of choosing to throw away countless dollars on disposable diapers is a hard one because we literally live in a throw away world. 

I think choosing cloth over disposable is difficult mostly because it requires a lifestyle and mindset change.  To go from a throw away world to a recycling world is simply not as easy as it seems.  So for those who are still trying to make a decision, read our top reasons for choosing to use cloth.  I don't think you will be sorry after giving cloth a chance.

Comfort

If you have ever had a baby, you know that the first thing you get for your post partum bleed is a diaper.  Either it is a special mesh diaper or it is an adult incontinence diaper.   This is what I dread most about having babies, the post-partum bleed, and the adult diapers.  They are so uncomfortable, and noisy.  I told an e-mail loop I was in that everyone choosing to use disposables should go a day or two in these adult diapers and see how they like it.  And sad to say, I was one of those using disposables, I did it with two children.   

Women have often wrote to say that after trying our menstrual pads, they found they actually had less cramping and bled less.  How much more comfort is there than that?

I chose cloth for myself and my baby at about the same time and I would never go back.  Our bodies were not meant to be dressed in paper pulp and plastic or we would just wear garbage bags.  It is one of those things you really have to try for yourself to believe the difference.

Environmental Issues

Disposable diapers leave behind 2.7 tons of non-biodegradable waste per child.  This doesn't even encompass what it takes to make these diapers.  One babyhood of diaper wearing takes 4.5 trees to make.  Feminine products hold true to this as well and though you may use fewer pads a day and per cycle than a baby in diapers, you will use pads for a longer period of time and they, like diapers, will not go away.  Choosing to use cloth diapers and cloth pads that can be used over and over again seems to be the better choice.  Looking at it in the long term perspective makes the choice easier.  Yes, I know we come from the throw away generation and our parents are looking at us like we are nuts, but it is our children who will reap the benefit or lack of, due to the choices we make.  One person at a time does make a difference and we will be raising our children to do the same.  They won't have to "learn" to recycle because they will have grown up doing it already and it will be second nature.  

Cost

With the current economy in the US, cost of products we use for human waste needs to be addressed.   Just because you pee on it, or bleed on it, or God forbid, poop on it, does NOT mean it is garbage.   Female and diapering products cost money to buy, and throw away.   This is silly when you can buy what you need once and have it last for years without much extra care or cost beyond the initial start up.  The costs of these products in your store are only going to go up.    My dh seems to think we have a money tree in the back yard only "I" know about.  So I learned to cut out frivolous costs.   Nothing made me madder than going to the store, or Costco to get Always pads and seeing the prices.  It always, excuse the pun, seemed like I bought a large box of pads, and then wound up pregnant.  Diapers are the same way.  We got them at Costco to "save" money.  Buying them at the local grocer was really expensive.  But either way, we were always conscious of when we would run out, and planned our lives around buying diapers, especially when we had two in diapers. 

The average cost of menstrual pads per year is about $85.00.  That is assuming you have a normal, whatever that is, 5 day flow, you do not use lightday pads in between periods, and you are not post partum.

The average cost of diapering a baby til he/she is potty trained averages now over $2000.00.  Compare to the cost of cloth, depending on how much you buy. can average about $300.00.  Then you can resell, or recycle for the next baby, assuming you bought quality products and took care of them. 

When I look at the figures above, I feel sick to think of the money I have literally thrown away over the years.  We did not even encompass the cost of garbage.  Our dump fees dropped significantly when we had no babies in diapers.  When I make money spending choices these days, I think of how much we make in a hour of work, and say that is $12.00/hr.  Then I look at what I am buying, how long it will last, etc.  Is it worth it?  Do I want to work an hour to buy disposable diapers that might last a few days, and then I have to smell them, and pay to take them to the dump?  Seems foolish.  Do I have $2000.00 on the money tree?  No.  If I did, I would buy a small travel trailer or something we could enjoy as a family.

Safety

Cloth pads and diapers are gel free.  Polyacrylate gel in diapers these days is not tested and no one knows the long term effects.   However they are suspected of exacerbating, and even causing, asthma.  Hmm, I have a child who developed asthma as a toddler, for "no reason."   Have you ever noticed the smell of disposables BEFORE they are used?  They are also full of dioxins.  So are paper menstrual pads.  Let's not even mention the tampons, do we all know why they are so bad?   To top it off, these super-absorbent particles make some think that they can go hours in between diaper changes.  Unfortunately, this happens a lot.  No one wants to sit in soiled clothes, pads or diapers.  Thinking that cloth diapered babies need to be changed more often is simply a myth.  If anything, a baby in a disposable needs to be changed more.    Everything has it's price.

Convenience

If you have read this far, I think convenience goes without saying.  You won't run out of diapers.  You won't run out of pads.  In fact, cloth diaper shopping seems to be favorite pastime for a lot of women.  Too many cute patterns and ideas out there.  The same can be said for menstrual pads.  I know you say that you don't care about the print, but if given a fabric selection, you certainly have your favorites.   You can find any style and print you want.  You can AVOID the diapering aisle altogether, as well as the menstrual aisle.  That aisle is no fun anyway, LOL!  You will have much more fun shopping for cloth diapers and pads.

Cloth diapered babies potty train quicker and easier, or so the rumor goes.  I agree after my experience with Daniel.  

Again, it is just one of those things you have to try before you decide.  It may seem like a lot of work if you have never used cloth, but it really isn't.  One or two extra loads of laundry a week if you use cloth diapers, no big deal.  I don't have any extra laundry loads with cloth menstrual pads because I just throw throw them in with the whites.  The savings and the benefits speak for themselves.  Many of our patrons from our first year of business are now coming back to buy cloth products for their daughters.   It is awesome to see people planning ahead and teaching the next generation to take better care of themselves and the environment.

Happy shopping!