The Cupertino Courier

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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

All Lined Up: Mother of three Christine Seddon has faithfully used cloth diapers since the birth of her second child. She now teaches classes on the financial and environmental advantages of cloth.

Environmentally conscious is bottom line

By Erin Hussey

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, during the 30-month period before toilet training, the average child uses more than 5,000 disposable diapers. When multiplied by the millions of diaper-age children in the America, it comes as no surprise that many landfills are now referred to as "diaper mountains."

In one year alone, 3.1 million tons of disposable diapers are dumped into U.S. landfills, resulting in close to 1.5 percent of the municipal solid waste. And instead of taking the average 15 years to decompose, disposable diapers can take up to 150 years.

But Christine Seddon of Sunnyvale, mother of three and cloth diaper advocate, is on a mission to reduce these numbers. She wants parents everywhere to know how much the cloth diaper has actually evolved.

"These aren't your mother's diapers," Seddon said. "In the old days, cloth diapers were these crunchy, icky-feeling plastic pants that weren't breathable, but now they're breathable and they're not crunchy."

Parents today aren't limited to the standard white cotton liners with separate white plastic covers; these days cloth diapers offer a choice of styles, patterns and fabrics--all with no pins required.

"Bum Genius just came out with this style two weeks ago," Seddon said, holding up a light pink diaper. "They are one size, so you buy them once when you have your baby and then they move up with your baby, until potty training. They go from 6 pounds all the way up to 35."

The stretchy Velcro side tabs combined with different snap settings allow the pocket style diaper, which is similar in design to disposable, to grow as the child does.

"They are going to take over," Seddon said.

In addition to the all-in one Bum Genius concept, there are other companies such as Fuzzi Bunz and Happy Heiny's that sell fitted or prefolded cloth diapers with washable, waterproof covers. The covers, made from fabric-like material called polyurethane laminate, can be pull-up style or fastened with snaps or Velcro.

"The covers are nice and soft and feel like normal fabric, but they're washable," said Seddon, who started researching cloth diapers while she was pregnant with her second child.

"I didn't want to pay another $3,000 again for diapers," she said. At $10 to $18 per diaper, many might think they are spending at least that much. But because one child needs only a total of about 24 cloth diapers, the total cost comes out to be around $450--which, as Seddon explained, holding a stain-free, practically perfect, 8-year-old diaper, does not have to be duplicated for a second or even third child.

"You could go out and buy the fanciest of fanciest cloth diapers, and it would still take you a very long time to spend $2,500," Seddon said.

As Seddon continued to research the benefits of cloth, she realized it was more than just a penny-saver; it was a way to improve the planet she will leave for her children.

"It really helped me realize what my trash does for tomorrow," she said.

Mark Bowers, solid waste program manager for the city of Sunnyvale, has dealt with the effects of disposable diapers firsthand.

"We spend a tremendous amount of money picking up and disposing of disposable diapers," he said. "It's a big waste of energy and natural resources, and it has a measurable cost on our garbage payers."

In a study conducted by Sunnyvale in 1995, the city found disposable diapers added up to 840 tons of garbage in Sunnyvale each year--more tons than any other single consumer item.

Many disposable diaper users, however, argue that while disposable diapers end up in the landfills, cloth diapers use more resources such as water. Bowers disagrees.

"Trees have to be cut down, hauled to a factory, made into diapers then packaged and trucked to the store," he said. "That's using a lot of valuable resources like trees, water and oil."

While cloth diapering has yet to overtake disposables, there are a handful of parents in Sunnyvale and Cupertino who have opted to use cloth.

"It's a myth that it's hard," Sunnyvale mother of two Loree Watanabe said. Watanabe, who chose to use cloth because of the environmental benefits as well as eliminating her children's exposure to the chemical dioxin, has even started to make her own diapers. "It's also a myth that you get more rashes from cloth."

Although Camino Medical Group pediatrician Kelly Troiano, doesn't force her patients to use cloth, she does talk to them about the health benefits.

"In terms of limiting rashes, I think cloth does a much better job than regular diapers," Troiano said. "Disposable diapers use a bit rougher material, while cotton is hypoallergenic. But it is a tough decision to make, and I support my patients on whatever they chose." She also noted that frequent diaper changes are needed with any type of diaper to reduce diaper rash. Another health aspect of cloth diapers is earlier toilet training.

"The problem with disposable diapers is also their biggest benefit; they absorb really well," Troiano said. "When children are toilet training they need to feel a little wet, so they feel a little bit uncomfortable and get used to the feeling of needing to go."

Whether it is saving money, helping the environment or health issues that help parents choose cloth, Seddon hopes to see the movement continue to grow.

"I like to use the analogy of paper plates," she said. "Why not use them all the time? Well, they are bad for the environment, but they also aren't made as well. Even if parents use just one cloth diaper, one time a day, they are going to save money and keep 365 diapers out of the landfill just in one year."

Seddon will teach a class on cloth diapering at the Sunnyvale Library on Jan. 27 at 10:30 am. The one-hour class is free and open to the public. For more information call the children's department at 408.730.7292.