I had refrained from posting on the environmental side of using cloth diapers because I figured it was a no-brainer, people know that disposables just aren't environmentally friendly in the least. I firmly believe it's your choice whether you want to use them or not based on the environmental impact, I'm not going to be someone's conscience on the matter.
But my confidence in the widespread knowledge that disposables are not seen as environmentally friendly was taken aback when I read an article stating that the UK Environmental Agency found no difference in the environmental impact between disposable and cloth diapers. Report sounded pretty fishy to me (uh hello, plastic doesn't biodegrade for starters) but of course UK Environmental Agency seems like they would know what they're doing, right? First clue something was up was that I clicked on the link in the article to the actual pdf of the study and link came up "link not found". Oh really? Odd. Well I dug some more and found an article reporting on the 2008 updated version of the study, which found that cloth diapers to have 40% less impact on the environment. Aha, that sounds more like it! Furthermore, if you read in the study, cloth diapers have even less of an impact if you: use energy efficient appliances, wash them in water less than 140 degrees F, use the diapers on multiple children, wash fuller loads or line dry them and/or dry them for less time in the dryer.
Just setting the record straight. =)
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