Birth of the Best Environmentally Friendly Diapers
Recently many people are being more self conscious and aware of pollution and their carbon footprint. As a result, diaper companies has come up with their own answers to satisfy this popular need. However, to be real with you, there’s no real environmentally friendly diaper out there.
It’s not that green diapers aren’t biodegradable. The truth is, they are made well to be biodegradable under the right conditions. However, no matter how green a diaper is, it has to be in contact with air in order to break down and become a part of our soil again with the help of nearby bacteria breaking it down.
The most common way people dispose of their diapers is basically in almost airtight plastic bags. As an end result, even green diapers don’t break down properly in a hundred years.
If you think cloth diaper is any better then you are absolutely wrong. As I mentioned before in a different post that cloth diapers require lots of water and electricity to clean. That by itself is also a big hit to the environment. In fact, it’s almost worst than using disposable diapers.
Don’t take this the wrong way. Certain diapers are still using resources responsibly and being as chemical free as possible, but the only real way you can help the environment out is to help your kid potty train as early as realistically possible.
One thing is for sure. All the diapers mentioned here are free of these harmful chemicals:
- phthalates
- PVC
- dioxins
- latex
- dye
- fragrance
- latex
Nevertheless, you are using your good heart to protect mother nature, and trying to find what’s best for your baby so read on.
Nature Baby Care
Nature Baby Care Eco-Friendly Disposable Baby Diapers
The Positives
These are great diapers in the fact that they are environmentally friendly. They are biodegradable which means that they break down into renewable resources within a short period of time. This only applies if you dispose of it properly of course.
These diapers have gluten in them but they are corn based gluten which is not that same as wheat gluten which triggers celiac diseases or other types of hyper immune response.
If your kids has sensitive skin and develops rashes easily, then give this a try. It works almost perfectly on little ones with a irritable bums. When it comes to preventing rashes, you pretty much don’t need to go anywhere else.
These diapers are great fits, and they are extremely natural. They are also good with leaks.
These diapers are made of GMO free corn. The reason that is important is because genetically modified corn are designed to be resistant to herbicide which is a harmful chemical.If the corn is GMO then it’s most likely full of herbicide.They are made with recyclable resources and has no fragrance or chlorine. They prevent rashes most of the times. They don’t smell like chemicals.
They are made following FSC standards which means that they grow more trees than the trees they chop down which is good for the environment. They are also made with biodegradable plastics.
The Negatives
However, they do breakdown if they make contact with moisture like at a swimming pool or so. When I said breaking down, I’m not actually saying that it breaks down into fragments and pieces. It means that it starts flaking off little by little.
You might be wondering why there’s such poor quality control. However, if you think about it carefully, every environmentally friendly diaper does that. You want it to be able to break down in landfills so of course this is going to happen. This is one of it’s biodegradable abilities which allows it to break down easier in the landfills so that it becomes a part of our precious soil again.
These diapers are pretty soft on the inside, but the outside feels a bit like paper towel. They are also a bit inflexible. If not careful, sometimes your kids can actually damage it and open up a hole if they are too aggressive with it.
Sometimes you might even rip the diaper just from removing it from the plastic package. These diapers are quite delicate so you have to handle it with care. Another problem is that the gussets (thigh wrapping part) are not flexible enough to contain diarrhea poop so poop leaking down the legs might happen from time to time. However, this happens to most diapers especially when you are breastfeeding.
Another problem are the diaper tabs (the velcro sticky wrappers). They are sometimes missing or stuck causing you to destroy some of the diapers. However, even though the diapers have tabs that rip easily, if you have an issue, contacting them will fix that and they will give you a replacement.
One thing this diaper can work on is the diaper sizes. These diapers also run a bit small, so constantly check on your little one’s weight and prepare yourself a little ahead of time for diaper size transition.
The Positives
Unlike Naty, these diapers are pretty soft inside and outside. They are also fragrance free and environmentally friendly. Instead of using corn, they use bamboo to make their diapers. This is why that they have absolutely no gluten in them.
They are actually very absorbent and thick compared to normal diapers. Believe it or not, their super absorbency actually posed as a problem for some people who bought their diapers.
Let me explain. Due to the fact that their diapers are so absorbent, the pee gets locked deep into the diaper, and the wetness indicator doesn’t indicate wetness. The absorbency actually goes a bit far and prevents the wetness indicator from making contact with it. Of course, that is a good thing, because your baby won’t develop a diaper rash that way. However, for parents of newborns, you will be totally thrown off schedule because you thought that you little one didn’t pee, but she actually did.
Negatives
The one thing they can improve is that that they are a little too big for their size range. Even though their diapers can be a little loose for their stated weight range, they barely ever leak if ever.
Their newborn size diapers also don’t have umbilical cord cut for belly button. For veteran parents, simply fold down the front of the diaper for your newborn and you are good to go. Of course, that’s still slightly inconvenient.
Just like nature baby care diapers, they sometimes break down on the baby and you probably have to wipe the lint while you change diapers.
Some people complain that this is a problem but the truth is it is biodegradable so this is actually normal. If it can break down so readily overnight, it goes to show how good it can be broken down when composted properly.
However, just because it breaks down better, it doesn’t mean it leaks. It’s leak protection is still top notch despite breaking down easily. They have two problems. One is that they go out of stock on certain sizes fairly easily.
One thing you have to be aware of is that they follow their own size chart. I will show it here for your convenience. Their large sizes are often out of stock, so at that point you probably have to use a different brand of diapers.
S 6-16lbs (3-8Kg)
M 13-22lbs (6-10Kg)
L 20-31lbs (9-14Kg)
XL 26+lbs (12kg+)
Conclusion
What I have shown you above are the best among the environmentally friendly diapers. They are the most absorbent, and the most chemical free. In terms of durability and softness, Andy Pandy win hands down. However, in terms of stock availability, Nature’s baby care is better. Give them both a try by getting a small pack to see which one you like:
I never really thought about how many resources are used for cloth diapers! Also, a lot of people do put their dirty diapers in plastic bags and then throws them away. Without oxygen, like you said, the diapers will not breakdown even given a large amount of time. So we should just throw them away in the trash without placing them in any air tight container? I think most people do this because it makes their trashcans not smell as bad. Thanks!
Wow, I really didn’t know there were so many products used in a diaper. I know that I have alternated between the standard Huggies and that sort, as well as cloth diapers. I thought I would to the right thing, you know save money, save the environment, etc and go with cloth. Well, I did not like the upkeep that is for sure. I love your alternatives and the Andy Pandy seem like a great choice! It sounds like it is just as soft as the cloth diapers that I love and enjoy. Some people told me that cloth diapers might hit the planet harder due to the fact that it uses more electricity and water to clean. I will try a small pack and see if it works for my little bums. By the way, this might sound random, but do you have any recommendations for car seats? I want to hear your opinion about it.
I have an article coming up soon about my favorite car seat. Come back and check it out later. Give Andy Pandy and see if it works for you. Cloth diapers are nice too but they have their own issues too so lets see if you like an alternative.
Too bad my kids are all grown up or else I could have given these environmentally friendly diapers a try. I was a Pampers fan and will always be one because of their excellent absorbency. Andy Pandy sounds very close to that and it’s environmentally friendly on top of it. I can recommend my friends to try it because one of them are expecting soon. She’s not sure what she can do for good old Mother Earth, but this sounds like a fairly easy way to start.
Andy Pandy might be even better than Pampers Swaddlers in terms of absorbency, environmental friendliness and softness. However, they are much more expensive so it really depends on whether your budget allows it, and whether eco friendliness is important to you.