Disposable diapers did not appear out of nowhere, nor were they given to man by beneficent Prometheus; they are the product of human intelligence applied to objective reality as we best know it. Someone, somewhere had to discover that when certain chemicals are combined in a certain way, when certain machines are arranged in a given fashion, and when a certain series of actions are undertaken in a particular order, a disposable diaper is produced. Mundane? Perhaps. Miraculous? Almost certainly. FULL ARTICLE
Source link: http://blog.mises.org/8962/the-magnificence-of-disposable-diapers/
The Magnificence of Disposable Diapers
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Disposable diapers? This came out from left field but I guess they have more uses than gold. Maybe they will have a futures market for the oil they may generate millions of years from now.
Seriously, diapers should not be a factor of convienance, it really should be about the health of the baby. Cloth diapers and prompt changing is the best combo for the baby’s health. People that use disposable diapers tend to change less often as they hold more fluids and claim that they wick away from the baby. Raised two kids, never had a single diaper rash with cloth diapers.
And the whole idea that anything disposable is green is just plain nuts. But for convienance, most of us can justify anything. But just think about the raw sewage left in the diaper that is being thrown into our landfills and working its way into the water table. And you may be one of the few that shakes out the diaper before disposing of it, but the majority of the people are like the ones that leave them full in a McDonald’s parking lot!
You say that the carbon footprint of disposables is less than that of cloth, but reference no source. Where did you get this info?
Good Points made by Greg.
However there is something else to consider, Disposable diapers are great but they also allow more time for people to take their dogs for a walk in the park and not clean-up after them, others the more responsible ones, then step into the dog droppings: well you know the rest. It may be that disposable diapers are really not the way to go especially since it give so many the extra time to irresponsibly walk their dogs.
Finally…An article about poop!
Most children who use cloth diapers tend to become toilet trained A LOT sooner than diaper-bound babies. The reason is quite intuitive: they learn to recognize an immediate discomfort associated with letting things loose.
Contrary to the latest and convenient popular belief, children can be toilet trained very early in life. It just takes a lot more work on the part of the parent. Been there, done that.
If only cloth-diapered babies wore diapers for the same amount of time that disposable-diapered babies do — which they do not — the analysis would be accurate.
This article stinks.
Where are your references about the environment? You should have numbers about the amount of material required for diaper production, and waste generated by disposable and cloth diapers. Disposable diapers contain plastic material and strong chemicals. Plastic take hundreds of years to disintegrate in waste dump (not good for the environment). My guess is a cloth diaper needs similar resources as a disposable diaper. With 24 cloth diapers, you can have up to 3 babies toilet trained. You need thousand of disposable diapers to achieve the same.
Like a good salesman, people are willing to throw anything close a sale. Promoting the Global Warming agenda in favor of your opinions is not scientific at all. The carbon footprint myth is a hoax. People behind the Global Warming movement (Al Gore and others) are clever individuals creating a new tax – the carbon tax which hundred of billions of dollar. Eventually those politicians will tax the air we breathe, because every human being produces carbon.
“I was reassured when I read that, according to a British government study, the carbon footprint attributable to disposable diapers is markedly lower than the carbon footprint attributable to reusable diapers.”
If you wre unsure, it means you probably never tried cloth diapers, and was perhaps turned off with the idea of washing them.
If you need British study pushing the carbon footprint agenda to tip the balance for deciding in favor of disposable diapers, it means you are quite easy to influence. Perhaps you should ask people who used cloth diapers before writing about a topic you are ignorant about. Spending a “lot of time thinking about diapers” is no substitute to real-life experience.
There are many reasons that cloth diaper users choose them over disposables. For our family, the environment was not a big reason for our decision. We chose cloth for the following reasons:
1. Disposables contain toxic chemicals, and we didn’t really want those against our baby’s skin 24 hours a day for the first two years of his life.
2. Cloth diapering costs less.
3. Kids in cloth tend to potty train earlier.
4. Cloth is changed more frequently, and therefore babies are less likely to have diaper rash.
I certainly understand why most families choose disposables, but honestly, cloth diapering probably adds less than 30 minutes of time to my weekly chores, and the benefits are well worth it.
Interestingly, I voted for Mike Munger (mentioned in the article) in the North Carolina gubernatorial race.
Now he can get back to political science and economics.
“And the whole idea that anything disposable is green is just plain nuts.” “Green” is ambiguous term. Everything is green; everything decays; everything is a byproduct of the matter that is planet Earth, from the mole on my right arm to the metal bumper of my car.
The questions are, more appropriately, How long does it take to decompose and lose its toxicity? And what are the associated impacts during the decomposition? Is there proximate risk to my property and person during the decomposition?
“But just think about the raw sewage left in the diaper that is being thrown into our landfills and working its way into the water table….”
As opposed to the raw sewage that you “shake out” and put wherever the heck you put it? Why is your excrement disposal site of choice a better one than the landfill and better removed from my water table?
Cheers.
F.
I think the part some people are missing about the carbon footprint of cloth diapers isn’t in the manufacture of them, but rather in the energy used to clean and dry them.
If people are washing them with rain water and drying them on the clothes line, then great.
But, it takes a lot of water and soap to wash them in a washing machine, and a lot of energy to put them through the dryer cycle.
I would like to see the data on how they figured this all out myself, but it is something to consider.
(As an aside, we’ve used disposables on both of my daughters, and neither has ever had diaper rash…)
FarSide astutely observes: “I think the part some people are missing about the carbon footprint of cloth diapers isn’t in the manufacture of them, but rather in the energy used to clean and dry them….”
And this has been has been an omission (deliberate or accidental) in countless, trendy recycling campaigns (for all manner of products) at the local and national level.
Collectivists (not necessarily anybody in this thread) typically ignore common sense as well as thorough (and I mean thorough!) science. Sorry for being such a curmudgeon today, but I’m so tired of left-liberal busy-body hypocrites. They’d be more noble if they were true model stewards of their own households, yards, properties. It’s so much easier to rabble rouse, “The sky is falling and it’s the fault of Walmart and Waste Management.”
Cheers.
F.
“And the whole idea that anything disposable is green is just plain nuts.”
What about all the energy that goes in washing, drying etc. reusable diapers? Basically, this is often omitted in the case of reusable things…
“What about all the energy that goes in washing, drying etc. reusable diapers? Basically, this is often omitted in the case of reusable things…”
For sure washing and drying takes a LOT less energy than building a new disposable diaper. Common sense tells us this. In economics, the cost also reflects the amount of work necessary to manufacture. Something more expensive usually more work.
The cost to wash a full load of 24 cloth diapers with hot water, laundry soap and its drying in a machine is less than a dollar. This represents a maintenance cost of $0.04 per diaper per wash. I am being conservative, because the cost could be easily half of this. Can you build a disposable diaper for that price?
I don’t know about you but I would surely be happier in a plastic bag than a soft-cloth diaper… kidding.
Environment? I would be more concerned with the environment of my baby than my “carbon footprint” of diapers anyway.
Do your own experiment; put a cloth diaper on for about a month and see if you observe any differences in their behavior in that time. How about in your behavior? (note: you shouldn’t bias your time with cloth by griping about it either)
Fill us in on how this transpires.
The study that the author of this artical can be read about here on Times Online:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4969413.ece
The results of the study were, however, recalled and those who ran the study have admitted that it was unscientific and did not consider the entire life process of either cloth or disposable diapers. Disposable diapers cause considerable amount of waste and energy use while being manufactured. Much more than cloth diapers, which are often times handmade and can even be made using fabric from old shirts. The amount of water being used to wash a typical week’s worth of diapers is the same amount you would use in your house if you have an extra person using the toilet. The amount of energy is about the same as what you would use to light up an extra room. The study also did not consider that most cloth is reused across children and generations of children. Families having more than one child will use the same cloth diapers. When a family is done with their diapers, they sell them to other families. My son has diapers that were used by my mother, as well as diapers that I have bought from friends. Compare the one time manufacture of cloth diapers to the continual manufacturing of disposables and you have a lot more wasted energy from the disposables by the time the kid is potty trained (which on average is a year later in disposables than in cloth)
The study remarked that you would need to use “extreme washing measures” to make an environmental difference with cloth diapers, yet the methods of washing they mentioned were not extreme at all, and in fact need to be followed to maintain the diapers. These include line drying (the dryer wears down velcro and other parts of the diaper, and so the majority of cloth diaper users line dry anyway)and using natural soap (commercial detergents leave residue on the diapers, causing them to lose absorbency and leak.) These are not extreme washing measures by any means, and in fact probably should be followed with most clothes that we launder. I feel that my cloth diapers have in fact saved me time. I have had no leaks or “blowouts” while using cloth diapers. When I was a teacher in a nursery school, I wasted countless minutes cleaning up messes after a diaper leaked. I experienced at least one diaper leak a day, sometimes several within the same day despite my policy to change diapers every 1.5-2 hours. Time that I could have spent nurturing and teaching the children in my care was otherwise spent cleaning up the mess of disposable diapers. I have not had this problem with my son’s diaper because I can fold the diaper anyway I need to contain the poop, I can control the amount of absorbent material that is put into each diaper, and cloth diapers create a double barrier. After three months, I have not wasted a single minute cleaning poop off of my carpet.
The author also mentions saving time. He obviously hasn’t tried cloth diapers. They are just as easy to put on as disposable diapers. No pins or extra parts, just the diaper. You unvelcro it, and throw it in a bin. The same as a disposable, only instead of walking it out to the dumpster, you walk it to your washing machine. The pail I use for my son’s diapers has never stunk, and in fact my son’s poop smells ten times worse when it is in a disposable. Even after using a diaper genie, the air still reaks of not only poop, but also the chemicals.
The chemicals brings me to my final point about this article. The author says that time is our most valuable possession, but what about health and the health of our children? If you look up the chemicals used in disposable diapers, and what long term exposure side effects are, I’m sure you would be more interested in keeping them away from your child’s most sensitive skin. One of the chemicals causes “scrotal bleeding.” Even if the average infant never experiences this, why put them next to chemicals twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, that could potentially cause it?
I do believe that disposable diapers, just like every other disposable product, has its place. I do occasionally put my son in a disposable diaper, for various reasons. However, saying that disposable diapers should be the every day norm is like saying that we should wear clothing made of paper and plastic all the time. I don’t wear disposable clothes, so why should my babies?
I forgot; I wanted to add a link to the actual study, with the corrections and retractions made:
http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=WR0705_7589_FRP.pdf
This should be an individual decision, and care is needed to avoid the free-rider problem .
Daniel says, “For sure washing and drying takes a LOT less energy than building a new disposable diaper. Common sense tells us this.”
Of course, because you’re comparing apples to oranges (washing vs. building). Nevertheless, you’re on the right track, because you want to measure the cost of all parts in the supply chain (and the disposal chain!).
From the consumers’ point of view, the metric to use is cost-per-diaper-change. Cloth diapers over a few years will run you about $.07 per change, whereas disposables are $.30 – $.35 per change, a big difference. Average baby runs about $500 of cloth diaper costs until (s)he is potty-trained vs. $2,400 for the disposable ones (errr, diapers, not kids).
Now, there’s opportunity costs to factor. How much are earnings impacted (per diaper) if I’m spending time running to the washer/dryer vs. the trash can? Ultimately, this becomes an economics question for each INDIVIDUAL(!).
So what does this tell us? As fast as the ambiguous “green” term, it tells us NOTHING, because we are not factoring in the cost of the waste by-products (detergent, soapy and dirty water, sewage costs or septic costs) compared to landfill costs and all its associated expenses. And what are the proximate risks to my neighbor? That is also a cost that can easily be embedded.
The cost of the landfill, and the costs to ensure the landfill will not impact another property owner, should be borne by the consumer paying for Waste Management (or whomever) to pick up trash. In some communities, this is via taxes. ‘course it results in the tragedy of the commons problem, but that’s why trash collection should be privatized.
I am sorry to say I can’t recall the source…. but years ago, an estimate was made on size of landfill to accommodate the world’s trash. The astonishing argument was that an area the size of Kansas would be sufficient to hold (and of course safely contain) all the world’s garbage for the next 1,000 years. No, I’m not saying that everyone in Topeka should start packing. But that argument certainly does say something about magnitude, doesn’t it? If even close to true, then the alarmist warnings are just that — alarmist nutcase warnings. Compare ourselves, technologically, to the race in 1,100 A.D.
If costs are including waste and waste impact, then a rational determination can be made by EACH INDIVIDUAL on how best to spend his/her money.
I don’t see how disposables could possibly be considered ‘green.’ They are full of contamination, plastics and synthetic ingredients that don’t easily break down. And, where’s your research for the ‘carbon footprint’ statement? Just wonderin’.
)
Cloth diapers are easier than ever. They are much less expensive than disposables. And, Daniel is right – they are pennies to wash and dry.
I have been using cloth diapers with my son for 4 months now (he’ll be 2 in February), and we both love them. They have already paid for themselves, and my boy is almost completely potty trained, because he can feel the wetness with cloth. Plus, there are new cloth diaper liners on the market that hold in solid waste. You just peel out the poopy liner, and flush it down. So, the only diapers you have to wash are wet ones. That’s not so bad.
There is another solution between disposables and cloth – gDiapers! They are cloth diapers with plastic-free waterproof liners and flushable inserts. They breathe like cloth, but have disposable inserts that can be flushed, composted, or trashed. Maybe that’s a good hybrid compromise? Better for your baby and the environment, and much more conveinent.
Take care,
http://www.rocksolidchristianfamily.com/cloth-diapers
Karissa
I thought the article was hilarious, being that a family that can afford diapers, especially disposable ones and not just moss or leaves, will have children who will leave such a big carbon footprint that just focusing on their butt-covering is ludicrous. Either we believe that Mother Earth is intelligent and can take care of her creatures, or we are just lost in space.
I agree with Katie. The primary reason my wife and I cloth diaper is to prevent diaper rashes and expedite toilet training. There are appropriate uses of disposables, too. If we’re at a sporting event, on a road trip, or out in chilly weather, we’re use disposables.
Cloth aren’t as difficult to take care of as people make them out to be. Technology, driven by “green” demand, has come along way in the reusable (not cloth only) diaper market.
Finally, carbon footprint isn’t the only “green” metric, it’s just the one that stands to make Al Gore a profit through his carbon credit business venture. One must also consider what happens to the waste generated, both the disposable and its contents go to a landfill whereas the cloth gets reused and the waste and water go to a water treatment plant.
If waste collection were completely privatized its likely we would all pay accordingly for the waste we need discard. The root problem is probably the one-size-fits-all nature of our public sanitation departments. People are never incentivized to minimize their refuse.
Bonnie, while I appreciate the metaphor, I have to admit I’ve never had a one-on-one in my living room with Mother Nature, and tend to be skeptical of “her” intelligence. I’m pretty certain that “she” is an amoral bystander to “her creatures.” Whilst I prefer to “take care” of myself, you’re welcome to converse with her as you see fit.
By the way, how do you know what kind of carbon footprint a disposable diaper child will leave in the future versus a cloth diaper child? But moreover, what of it? Each should pay for his/her impact.
Point is this: In a free society, I’ll focus on my butt-covering and carbon footprint and you focus on yours.
Cheers.
F.
Excellent article!
Now if we could determine the exchange rate on human creative credits (HCC) for hydrocarbon credits (H2CC) then extrapolate how many human creative credits could be saved if the gaming of the income tax system was ended, perhaps we could find a solution to the perceived problem of peak oil.
(It’s a joke folks…well kind of).
“disposable diapers are …better for the environment than …reusable diapers.” And slavery is better for slaves than freedom and education is bad for girls and unions are bad for the economy….and any other fool thing you want to say. Some statements are made simply as an invitation to believe. If we like the implications, why worry about the fact that no rational argument has been offered.
So Kevin, if I understand you correctly, human creativity has relatively little value when compared to environmental salvation? Are we to march blindly toward zero eco impact, even if our methods are imperfect? And we do this just so we can be politically correct?
If I may cite an example for which I have some contemporaneous familiarity.
I work every day with LEED (Leader in Energy and Environmental Design) construction systems, and I can testify that their methods for scoring, in many cases, are flawed. There is the distinct possibility that in a few cases the scoring may, in fact, be environmentally unsound and less than energy efficient. I’ve yet to see anyone put a pencil to the LEED principals in a comprehensive long term cost/benefit basis to justify their scoring. And when I use the term cost, I’m not necessarily referring to dollars.
However, the LEED programs are, if nothing else, politically correct. So for expediency, they seem to have been embraced by the design and construction professions, regardless of the total sum dollar cost, total sum carbon cost, total sum creative cost or any other method for determining value. And where there is no regard for cost or value, some one ultimately pays. The edict of the day seems to be “Damned with individual property rights, support the politically correct views of the stateâ€, which in turn are determined by the majority or politically connected, who may or may not be correct in their judgment.
Finally…An article about poop!
Oh, really? I’ve seen plenty of articles about Keynes on this site… : )
Did you factor into the equation the fact that organic re-usuable hemp cloth diapers are an un-subsidized industry, whereas Huggies originate from a very heavily subsidized and regulated industry. Anything that directly benefits (by way of fiat currrency, regulatory advantages, direct and indirect subsidization, bailouts, and war) the oil industry is a provable detriment to society and thusly “not green,” smile.
We never had a “smelly” house because someone innovated the cloth process by providing a service to wash and odor proof storage unit.
I’m not a Garbologist so I can’t argue with “modern” dump sites — its the non-modern ones I’m concerned with. Also, they are fully subsidized at tax payers expence.
If Huggies were not subsidized then you would have to pay the “true” cost AND society would be that much closer to a “free-market.” The “true” cost might be $10 – $20 a diaper whereas the Organic Hemp Diaper is closer to true market price (with a service), smile. In fact if Huggies (et al) were not subsidized we would have been working on an Organic alternative innovation all this time, smile.
Shitty logic.
Forgive the cliche, but I can’t resist.
Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason. ~Author Unknown
Cloth diapers are so SWPL.
I’ll take these granola’s seriously when they toss their band-aids and use Organic Hemp Bandages on open sores.
i would TOTALLY buy those bandages!! where can i get them?
“They are full of contamination, plastics and synthetic ingredients that don’t easily break down.”
Contaminated with what? You do realize they’re practically identical to tampons. Not much of a market for organic hemp items of those I’ll wager.
And if an item doesn’t decompose, that means it’s environmentally neutral. Just something that takes up space, like a rock.
noteworthy – the same chemicals used in disposables diapers were actually REMOVED from tampons several years ago because of toxic health concerns. they were left in the diapers since they don’t actually go INSIDE the poor child. my second child was born with a fused labia adhesion. the disposable diapers constantly irritated the site causing this potentially benign condition to become severe and threaten her kidneys. that’s when we discovered cloth diapers. within one week she was all better. a single day using disposables caused the problem again. my third child developed a BLEEDING RASH caused by the disposables. it was horrid. cloth saved the day again. and again, a single day using disposables caused the problem again. quick aside about my the time issue – my first child was in disposables (hadn’t discovered cloth yet) – he was constantly blowing out of those and i was constantly having to clean up those messes. never had that same problem with cloth. also the time to wash a load of diapers if we are running low doesn’t compare to having to run out to the store to buy another package of disposables. one more thing – it states right on the packages of disposable diaper that it is the law to place the poop from them into the toilet (where else did you think we’d put it?), just as us “clothies” do with the cloth diapers. that is because the water from the toilets goes to the water treatment plants which are designed to treat that water appropriately.
Byzantine,
you might be on to something with that hemp bandage thing. Although I think that the granolas are going to need to get their hands on the “good stuff”
A collection of studies showing anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties of cannabis isolates.
I usually love every article I read here at Mises, but this one missed the mark. The British study you speak of was a horrible piece of science.
I have never considered myself an a environmentalist. I would say I am a conservationist, mostly only because it saves me money. But, the idea that disposables are better for the environment than cloth is just ridiculous. Why don’t we just wear disposable clothes instead of washing and reusing them?
I have been using cloth on my little girl for six months. They are easy and take very little of my precious time. She had a diaper rash for the first 11 weeks of her life. Nothing worked. When I switched to cloth is was gone in two days. I have already saved hundreds dollars.
Art,
With regard to your article presented on Mises.org entitled: The Magnificence of Disposable Diapers.
gDiapers are breathable. Plastic-free flushable refills keep babies dry and happy, so they’re less likely to get diaper rash.
http://www.gdiapers.com
Cradle to Cradle Gold Certified.
http://www.c2ccertified.com
Perhaps, time and energy are not all that matters.
Respectfully,
kirk
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