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Why use cloth AIO diapers?
Cloth diapers are a green alternative to disposables. They may be reused for years and put through your washing machine time and again. Disposable diapers are the third most common item in our landfills, and take an estimated 500 years to decompose. Each disposable-diapered baby will contribute one ton of diapers to our waste stream before toilet training.
All-in-Ones are every bit as convenient and easy to use as disposable diapers. Like a disposable, an AIO is a single garment that fastens quickly and securely with tab closures. I never used a special laundering agent (just Dreft) or technique (I didn't even soak them) for this style of fleece and flannel AIOs when I made them for my daughter, and they looked as good as new after a year of use.
Since AIOs are so simple, daycares prefer them to other types of cloth diapers. And no wrangling of inner diaper and outer cover means that AIOs are relatively easy to wrangle onto active youngsters.
These diapers are completely free of the polypropelene, polyethylene, and superabsorbent polymers that go into the making of disposable diapers. They are just made of fabric and elastic. No plastic.
Cloth diapers prevent diaper rash. Some babies do react to the detergents used by diaper services, so washing your own AIOs in the mild detergent of your choice is the best prevention.
Toddlers in cloth diapers potty train on average one year earlier than their disposable-diapered friends. Every toddler I know who was diapered in cloth trained right around their second birthday.
It's economical. Disposables are about $.25 each, and the average child goes through 8,000 diaper changes before potty training. Cloth diapers do cost more initially but you'll end up saving money.
These handmade diapers are made by me in my home in Oakland, California. In contrast, most commercial cloth diapers are made in textile factories in China, Pakistan, and India, with cotton imported to or traded among those nations. I walk or bike to my supply stores. The fabric I use is often repurposed mill end or scrap that would otherwise be thrown away. By buying these diapers, you are upcycling.
Ordering Bun-O-Matics is another way to go local, to fight globalization, and to take responsibility for the environmental impact of your purchases.
For more information:
On cloth diapering in general:
http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/diapers/crazy-for-cloth.html
On chemicals in disposable diapers:
http://www.lesstoxicguide.ca/index.asp?fetch=babycare#diape
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/diapers/diaper-asthma.html
http://www.disposablediaper.net/faq.asp?1
On plastics in the environment:
http://www.ecologycenter.org/ptf/
On diaper rash:
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/infants/051.html
http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/real-diaper-news/quarterly_article_mullen_diaper-rash-comparing-diaper-choices.htm