Are cloth diapers greener than disposables?

Parents might assume cloth diapers are by far the greenest diapering option: They are a reusable product and don’t clutter up landfills for hundreds of years while we wait for them to decompose by the billions.

But, sur

prisingly, multiple studies and lifecycle assessments of cloth and disposable diapers, however, have shown that the overall environmental impact caused by each is about the same, even if the diapers are laundered at home.

Studies funded by both sides of the debate, including cloth diapering and disposable diapering industry groups, have found no clear winner.

Still, the subject is debatable: Did the studies include sustainably harvested, pesticide-free, unbleached cotton? (Conventionally produced cotton can be extremely hard on the environment.)

Did the study account for garbage transportation?

In Snohomish County most garbage has to be trucked by rail 300 miles away to a landfill in Eastern Washington. How’s that for a diaper footprint?

And what about the chemicals used in the processing of the diapers?

Also, studies can’t account for personal taste: Even if the outcomes are the virtually same, if you feel awful throwing away so many paper diapers, they’re not right for you.

If you are deeply disgusted by poop-soiled laundry, then you have to prioritize.

But as Melissa Shoop, a Marysville mother of four, who converted to cloth for her fourth child, puts it: Parents should at least know their options.

She is still kicking herself for not discovering cloth for her first three children, who all wore disposables.

Read her full story here, where you’ll also find an amazing list of resources, including where to buy diapers and where to learn more.

I was surprised to hear about some of Shoop’s tricks, including paper-thin flushable diaper liners that allow you to easily remove solid waste and a diaper sprayer attached to the toilet tank for getting the rest washed off.

Pretty cool.

If you have seven minutes, watch a cool video from the “The Early Show” on CBS, featuring one mom’s unlikely conversion story and a variety of cloth diaper styles below or at tinyurl.com/cbsclothdiapers.

What kind of diapers do you use? And what are the pluses and minuses?