Why Cloth Diaper?
The Cost | Cloth diapers will save your wallet!
You may have heard, or personally experienced, how expensive disposable diapers are and how their prices continue to skyrocket! Disposable diaper costs have rose nearly 10%*** in the last two years, during the covid pandemic and do not look to be going down anytime soon! Now is the perfect time to start your cloth diapering journey and save some major money!
In general, the money you spend on purchasing disposable diapers for just the first 3 months of your baby's life, could instead purchase you an entire set of 24 Rumparooz One Size Cloth Diapers!Â
Best news yet?! Our Rumparooz will last your baby from birth, all the way through potty training. With proper care, you can hang onto your cloth diapers for a future child(ren), sending your savings through the roof! How much money you will actually save is determined by what type of diapering systems are being compared.Â
The average cost of a disposable diaper is 39 cents and your baby is in diapers for 2-3 years, using 8-10 diapers per day. You'll easily spend $1200-$1300 in only twelve months of diapering, exclusively on diapers. The additional cost of wipes, rash creams, and a diaper pail needing dozens of refills for it, will bump your annual expense up to around $1500. Based on which cloth diapering system you choose, how many diapers compose your "stash", and how many children utilize those diapers - cloth diapering your child could cost you as little as $200-$500 from birth through potty training. The actual calculation for savings will vary greatly based on the specific needs and purchasing for your family. You may decide to purchase your diapers second hand or select a prefold and cover system, and only need to spend $50 for your cloth diaper stash. Another choice may be to purchase a package of 24 new one size pocket diapers, costing around $500.Â
You can spend less and have fewer diapers, but wash more frequently. You can spend more to have more diapers and only have to wash every 2-3 days. It is a personal decision for which system works best for your family and your lifestyle. It doesn't matter which way you choose to cloth diaper - cloth diapering will save you money!Â
We should also mention that your cloth diapers have a resale value of up to 75% of what you bought them for! When you are out of the diapering stages you can find many families that are looking to purchase their cloth diapers at a discount, and are searching for used diapers on resell market apps and Facebook. We have a Buy/Sell/Trade group on Facebook which you are welcome to join to buy and/or sell your used Kanga Care products! We understand there can be a lot of choices to make and cloth diaper systems to choose between.Â
Our team is here to help you out and our diapering experts will take your needs into consideration and help you find a cloth diaper lifestyle customized for your family!
Related: Every Parent Needs Washable Diapers • Why Choose Reusable Diapers?
Environment | Cloth Diapers make the planet happy!
It's no news flash, cloth diapers are eco-friendly! The same can not be said about their disposable counter part. Disposable diapers are basically manufactured garbage. A disposable diaper's job is complete in the small time span of a mere few minutes to, at most, the couple hours it takes for your baby to fill it up. After that, it is off to the landfill for that toxic little package all wrapped up into a knot and fasten around itself so that its contents is sure not to offend those it encounters (FAIL). That little disposable diaper, advertised to swaddle, pamper and hug your baby, isn't alone though, he has his friends! All 9000 of them. That's right. You will change your baby's diaper around 9000 time between birth and potty training. 9000 diapers - for just one baby! If those are disposable diapers, all 9000 head straight to the landfill the same day they emerge from their brand new package. There is no exact time frame that disposable diapers are known to break down in, but the estimation is 500 years or more. The average family has started using diaper pails which individually wrap each diaper in a piece of plastic that is then spun around and synched off to try and contain the odor. The end product looks like a sausaged disposable diaper chain. This chain is then emptied into a traditional trash bag. The little toxic packages have now been "double bagged" and in this scenario disposable diapers may never decompose. Disposable diaper waste comprises the #2 product in our landfills. 92% of all single-use, disposable diapers end up in landfills. Gross. But wait, where are the other 8% ending up? ...parking lots, play grounds, littered into our open spaces…
An argument has been made that there is no significant difference between the environmental impact between cloth diaper and disposable diapers because of the water needed to wash cloth diapers. This is a myth. Disposable diapers may appear to produce less sewage because human waste is wrapped up inside them and the whole package is discarded into the landfill instead of shaking the solids into the toilet and flushing them into the sewage system. This practice violates World Health Organization guidelines and is technically illegal. Packages of disposable diapers clearly state to the consumer that solids are to be disposed of into a sewage waste receptacle before the diaper is discarded.Â
Caring for cloth diapers at home uses 50-70 gallons of water every three days. For perspective, a toilet-trained person, flushing the toilet 5-6 times a day, also uses 70 gal. of water every three days. Waste water from washing cloth diapers is relatively benign while the waste water from pulp, paper and plastics contain solvents, sludge, heavy metals, unreacted polymers, dioxins and furans. The potential environmental impacts of the disposal of these materials are considerable. Although cloth diaper use also emits air pollution, the air pollution from the manufacturing of disposable diapers is far more noxious. Pulp bleaching emits dioxins and furans into the air, as does incineration. Incineration often produces toxic air emissions and toxic ash. Disposable diapers are manufactured out of petroleum, produced overseas, which travels quite a distance to access the disposable diaper customer. The disposable diaper also requires more gas and waste to access their last resting place, the landfill.Â
When you cloth diaper you have a little peace of mind knowing that your cloth diapers can be reused by a younger sibling, or sold second hand and live a second life with another family and child (while padding your wallet back up a little!)
Related: What are the Advantages of Reusable Diapers?
Chemicals | Cloth Diapers are Non-Toxic!
No chemicals. Not here, not ever! Have you ever wondered why a package of disposable diapers isn't required to disclose an "ingredient" list? After all, our children are wrapped in those products for the first 2-3 years of their lives. The skin is the human body's largest organ and when in contact with disposable diapers it absorbs those toxins and chemicals into the child's body through their most sensitive areas. Depending on the brand of disposable diaper they contain varying quantities of dioxin, sodium polyacrylate, dyes, fragrances, plastics, tolulene, xylene, ethlbenzene, and other cancer creating toxins. Contact with these chemicals is the most common cause of diaper rash. Babies in cloth diapers experience little to no diaper rash outside of the usual, teething, dietary and viral causes for rash and/or redness. By choosing cloth diapers you are limiting your son or daughter's contact with these toxic chemicals. For babies with highly sensitive skin, cloth diapering can offer some of the most gentle diapering options including organic and natural cotton, hemp, bamboo and hypoallergenic fabrics. Cloth diapers are very soft and gentle on your own little one, not at all stiff and scratchy like disposables. The Rumparooz and Lil Joey brands of cloth diapers, by Kanga Care, are made with a special type of hypoallergenic microchamois with a buttery soft inside to sooth those tiny little buns.
Convenience | Cloth Diapers are Easy to Use & Care For!
Cloth diapers are simple and convenient. Seriously! Like a load of towels easy. Modern cloth diapers have evolved out of the pins and plastic pants. Most styles feature Aplix (hook & loop) or snaps to fasten onto the child. The diaper materials are waterproof and easy to clean. Not to mention they come in a rainbow of colors to match to cute outfits and dozens of fun, funky, adorable and fashion forward prints. Changing a baby into a cloth diaper is no different then changing a baby into a disposable diaper and can be done with just as much speed and ease. The difference? No garbage can required.
Related: Cloth Diapers: Everything Old is New Again! • The Cloth Diaper: Its History and Dramatic Comeback
Fun | Cloth Diapers are Fashionable, Adorable & Addicting!
We said it before, but have you seriously seen the beautiful rainbow of saturated colors and the always refreshing selection of fun, funky, adorable and fashion forward prints? Cloth diapers quickly become a fashion statement and you will be matching tee shirts, dresses and other coordinating outfits in no time! Soon, pants become optional and even if pants are covering up that adorable diaper, you know that under those jeans is a Scarlet red Rumparooz that matches your little ones dino top perfectly (and there is a matching Quinn print Rumparooz in the diaper bag for later!)
Consider yourself warned, cloth diapering could potentially be addicting! Maybe we shouldn't tell you know this part, but cloth diapers can rival a good shoes or handbags collection. Soon you will be hunting down the most recent prints and keeping up with new products coming soon. If you need a place to call home and chat with other families who share your addiction, we have an amazing community of fan in our Kanga Care Chat Facebook Group.