Should you choose cloth diapers?: cost and environmental impact

Modern cloth diapers are slowly becoming more and more popular with usage rising 1% since 2019.

Many parents are considering cloth diapers for the first time and sometimes it’s hard to determine which is better cloth or disposable.

Modern cloth diapers are an amazing option for people who want to save money, lower their carbon footprint and have a reliable source of clean diapers for their baby.

I have used cloth diapers for 3 years on 3 children and I truly feel that choosing to cloth diaper was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Which are better cloth or disposable?

When deciding whether cloth or disposable diapers are the best option for you you need to drop all of your preconceptions about both cloth and disposable diapers.

Cloth diapers aren’t all great big cotton squares of fabric with pins and plastic pants any more, but they also aren’t the saviors of the entire ecosystem.

And disposables aren’t magical little devices that keep the world 100% poop, pee and smell free, but they also aren’t going to cause the downfall of the human race.

The vast majority of parents worldwide choose disposable diapers because they are convenient and readily available, not to mention that as far as up front costs go disposables are the clear winner.

On the other hand most parents choose cloth diapers to save money since they are cheaper long term, help the environment or because their baby is allergic to disposable diapers.

Environmental impact of disposables

Both disposable diapers and disposable wipes are causing problems for the environment, disposable wipes don’t disintegrate in water.

So if they find their way to a river they can become tangled with sticks and other debris in the river and form blockages and spaces where wildlife can get tangled.

There are 27.4 billion disposable diapers used each year in the US alone which equals around 3.4 million tons of non biodegradable trash each year.

Disposable diapers that say they are biodegradable or compostable may be slightly better however the landfill does not provide the conditions needed to biodegrade or compost.

So while they might breakdown faster they are still going to be around for a very long time.

Are cloth diapers cheaper than disposables?

As far as the cost difference between cloth and disposable diapers, either can be very cheap or very expensive.

In both cases the cheapest diapers you can find probably aren’t the best and the most expensive might be overkill for your needs.

Disposable diaper cost

This chart shows a break down of disposable diapers for 1 child using 8 diapers through the day.

Diaper brand	Cost per diaper	Cost per year
Parent’s choice	$0.11	$320.32
Pampers	$0.24	$698.88
Pampers pure	$0.30	$873.60
Hello Bello	$0.21	$611.52
Honest*	$0.38	$1,106.56

Most children at some point will need more absorbent overnight disposable diapers which are usually 3-4 cents more expensive per diaper.

Cloth diaper cost

In the chart below I have taken the price of 36 cloth diapers from each brand and divided up the initial cost so it can be compared to disposable diapers easier.

Diaper brand	Cost per diaper	Cost per year
Alva baby	$0.02	$78.62
Kawaii baby	$0.03	$108.10
Bebeboo	$0.06	$195.90
Thirsties	$0.09	$262.08
Blueberry	$0.11	$320.32

As you can see from the above charts cloth diapers are in the lead until you compare the most expensive cloth diaper to the cheapest disposable.

You can lower the price for disposables if you’re buying bulk, during sales or with coupons.

But you can also lower the price on the cloth diapers using sales, coupon codes or buying used and seconds quality cloth diapers.

Additional costs

Now there are some miscellaneous expenses you will need to cover depending on whether you choose cloth or disposable diapers.

Probably paying for the additional trash pickup for disposables, maybe a Diaper genie and diaper cream for each change.

As for cloth diapers there is of course the extra cost for detergent and electricity to wash them and depending on where you live extra cost for water.

You might also want a wetbag to store dirty cloth diapers in while on the go since you don’t just throw cloth diapers away.

There are also some things you will most likely need regardless of whether you choose cloth or disposable, like a changing mat and an extra trash can.

(The trash can just be used as a normal trash can for disposables or as a diaper pail for cloth diapers.)

What are the disadvantages of cloth?

One of the biggest disadvantages of cloth diapering that I have experienced is that there is a learning curve with cloth diapering,

Like figuring out your wash routine, which diapers fit your baby best and how much absorbency your baby needs.

I wash terrified by the thought of having to figure out a wash routine, but I eventually figured out if they smell clean you’re probably fine.

You do have to run an extra load of laundry, whether you’re washing once a day or if you have enough diapers to last that long once a week.

What are the disadvantages of disposables?

Some babies are allergic to the chemicals in disposable diapers and/ or disposable wipes.

So it may take some time to figure out which brand of disposables your baby can tolerate, Honest company disposable diapers are known to contain less chemicals.

However they are one of the most expensive disposable diaper brands.

Blowouts are another common problem with disposable diapers especially in the newborn stage.

The frilly leg gussets on disposable diapers and the lack of good elastic along the back of the diaper sometimes just aren’t enough.

Conclusion & Resources

I feel that overall cloth diapers are better than disposable diapers in most cases, however if you don’t have a reliable source of clean water.

No access to washer and dryer and absolutely no time to hand wash and line dry then cloth diapering might just not be an option for you.

There is also the possibility that you just have no interest what so ever in cloth diapering or the thought of learning to cloth diaper is just too overwhelming.

And that’s okay too, if you think cloth diapering is literally going to kill your soul you can wait until you’re ready or just not even worry about it.

This decision is about you and your family, nobody else knows whats best for your family better than you do.

So no pressure you just go do what’s best for you.

I started full time cloth diapering my oldest when she was 1 month old in October 2018 and I never looked back.

Since then I have had 2 more children who I have cloth diapered since birth, I love cloth diapers and the peace of mind they give our family.

Link to full article on wet wipes in the river Thames Thames21.org

Math for cloth diaper cost breakdown.

365 days in a year x 3 years =1,095

8 diapers a day x 1,095 = 8,760

36 blueberry pocket diapers =$1006.20 (before tax and shipping)

$1006.20 divided by 8,760 =$0.11

$0.11 per diaper x 56 diapers per week x 52 weeks in a year=$320.32