Halle Berry is planning on being an environmentally conscious mom. She told People magazine that, "I'm working on the nursery, but it's all going to be organic and eco-friendly... There are so many things out now that you can use. I'm going to really try hard to make it all organic!". She added that, "They even have organic disposable diapers now that you can use".What diapers is she talking about? Well, there are a couple options in the "organic disposables" area.
Seventh Generation Disposable Diapers: They are made in the US- which is good for both the US economy and for reducing use of gas and oil for the product to get to store shelves. They are free of latex, prefumes, dyes, and TBT (tributyl tin). They are made of chlorine-free materials and hypo-allergenic.
Tushies: "The Gel-Free Alternative Diaper" claims to be free of gel, latex, prefumes, dyes, TBT, and GMO. The diapers use chlorine-free woodpulp instead. But I'm not convinced. They say right on the website, "Because Tushies Diapers do not contain a superabsorbent, parents will change diapers more frequently". So you are creating more waste then? If you are throwing out more diapers than regular disposables, I don't really see the environmental advantage here.
In the end, while I am glad that people are using more Earth-friendly materials, it still seems like the Prius answer to things. It sounds great and perhaps feels like you are helping the cause, but there isn't much there. The Prius isn't all that environmentally friendly- the batteries and lifespan of the car make it not as friendly as say a TDI Jetta which gets 40 to 50 mpg. In the same way, while organic diapers sound great, they aren't really helping- after all they still are disposable. Energy is going into something that is shipped, bought and worn for a very short period of time and then thrown out. It's like someone saying they use Earth-friendly paper cups. It doesn't make sense. Use something that you can wash and reuse!
This is why I am a huge advocate for cloth diapering. A few quick points from OrganicAuthority.com
"disposable diapers continue to fill landfills around the world... by contrast, washing organic cotton diapers at home uses surprisingly little water: 6% of a household's total water usage for top-loading washers and 3% for front-loading washers... In the summer, we use more water to keep our lawn green than we do to wash our diapers"
Not only that, but they are cheaper!
| Diaper Type Total Cost | Based on 6,750 diaper changes | Price Per Change |
| Cloth diapers (washed at home) | $778.05 | 12¢ |
| Cloth diapers (diaper service) | $2,133.00 | 31¢ |
| Disposable diapers | $2,530.00 | 37¢ |
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