1 yr of Cloth Diapering - Does it really save money?
The million dollar question!!!!!
How many dollars do I actually get to save???
As I mentioned in the first post in this series - I began cloth diapering out of the sheer shock of the trash that was created by disposable diapers in the first week that we were in the hospital. I did not think about the economy at all when I started CDing. It was later that I figured out that cloth diapers are a more economical option than disposables! Read on....
In India, 1 diaper costs around ₹10 and in Europe, around €0.20. This is not the MRP but the discounted prices in online stores for multi packs. Per day about 5 changes are needed, so that's ₹50 or €1 per day. So for 2 years its about ₹36500 0r €730 per child.
A good quality cloth diaper costs ₹800 or €15. About 30 diapers are needed for a good stash (with about 2 laundry every week). That's ₹24000 or €450. Lets add a ₹2000 or €50 for laundry needs, that's still a whooping ₹10000 or €230 savings! And.......... this price is not per child (unless they're twins)! The 2nd or 3rd child could also use the same diapers.
More to savings is............ you could save initially by buying preloved diapers or save later by selling your used diapers!!! Also with cloth diapers you don't have to buy diaper rash cream or bloomers!
The usual question that I often face - I waste water in washing the cloth diapers, so technically the ecological damage done by disposable vs cloth is balanced out.... Right? Wrong!
The best way to be ecological would be to go diaper-free like traditionally done in many Asian countries. Read about Elimination Communication if you're interested. If you can't and you're going to use diapers, the only option is to choose the best of 2 evils! Both disposable and cloth diapers are causing damage to the planet, which causes lesser damage???
Disposable diapers don't go into recycled waste. It goes into landfills or incinerated. So yes, it is creating a lot of garbage and its all plastic! Guess what plastic does? Try discarding a polythene cover in your backyard. Go back to it after 3 months. It would have partially sunken into a few layers of dust and mud. Pour water onto it! Mud will clear up and polythene will not let the water percolate. Now....... consider a million polythene covers forming a layer over the earth. Rain water will not percolate and add to the underground water and that's misery! The pollution caused will take eons to disintegrate!
So the 2 evils here are - choke the planet that the next generation has nothing natural to enjoy or waste few gallons of water that will be replenished soon by melting glaciers, thanks to global warming...... Choose for yourself!!!
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2 comments
Reading the first paragraph I felt like you wrote my mind :) Cloth diapering is definitely economical in the long run.
ReplyDeleteGood one ...never thought this way ..
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