We ran a story earlier this weekend that featured a video of various diapers decomposing over the course of one year. While the regular plastic-based diapers looked virtually identical after one year compared to when they started, one diaper had completely disappeared!
That magical, disappearing diaper was the gDiaper! Demand for more information on this super-diaper quickly led to us posting a follow-up article that solely focused on the gDiaper so here it is!
First, I found out about gDiapers through my wife who is a neo-natal intensive care nurse at one of the premiere children’s hospitals in the United States. While we don’t have any children yet, she works with babies on a daily basis — changing diapers, feeding, cleaning, and other care — many on premature babies.
She comes home and says “Hey have you heard about gDiapers? They’re an earth-friendly, disposable diaper that fits into these really cute, cloth exteriors.”
Are they Green? Indeed they are cute! And comfy! And Green! Each cloth exterior is made from 92% cotton, 8% spandex, no elemental chlorine, no perfumes, no latex and no guilt. You can find many styles and colors of the outer cloth diaper at the gDiaper shop. Also note that the cloth gDiaper exterior resembles real underwear and should help some older kids be more happy to wear them.
What are the disposable inserts made from? According to their website:
The materials in ‘little g’ pants, liners and flushables are designed with comfort and dryness in mind. Flushables are made of a water resistant, breathable outer material that keep bottoms dry and wetness away. It is made of all natural fiber and is 100% biodegradable. The interior uses elemental chlorine-free tree farmed fluff pulp and Super Absorbing Poly-acrylate to absorb wetness. These super absorbing lock away cells hold up to 100 times their weight in liquid.
Snap-in liners are made of breathable polyurethane coated nylon, not pvc like many diaper covers. They are easy to change and rinse out. Our liners are also breathable which helps prevent diaper rash.
Our ‘little g’ pants are made of a soft, breathable outer cotton/elastene fabric giving them a slight stretch.
Are they cost effective compared to regular diapers? Well, when I compare prices from Diapers.com, you can buy 152 Huggies Supreme Size 1 (8-14 lbs) for $33.99 ($0.22/unit) or 160 gDiapers Small (8-14 lbs) disposable inserts for $52.00 ($0.32/unit) plus the cost of the stylish exterior which range from about $10.99 on eBay to $17.99 on the gDiapers shop.
Are they a viable alternative to use in place regular diapers? Again, their website, gDiapers.com had loads of helpful information. As far as their use, it seems relatively simple. Check out the following YouTube clips explaining how the inserts work as well as the options for disposal!
The Earthascope verdict: Eliminating plastic-based diapers is a very significant and important way to green your own life as well as your baby’s life. The trade off with gDiapers is really just an issue of cost, in my opinion. What do you get though for that added cost? 1) You get a diaper that is basically just as easy to use as a regular diaper. 2) You get ultra cute and stylish cloth diapers for your little one that resemble real underwear for the older ones. 3) You remove an incredible amount of non-biodegradable waste from landfills.
Have you tried gDiapers? Is there something we missed? Tell us about your experience below!
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August 6th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Hi, I have been using gDiapers for almost 2 years now and just had to make a comment about the cost, which seems to be your only frawback. When you purchase disposable diapers over time, the packages come with fewer diapers for the same amount of money. With gDiapers, the package always contains the same amount of refills. So over the long run, disposable actually become more expensive per unit than the gDiapers! When taking a look at the overal cost for the entire duration of diapering a baby, the cost seems to balance out.
We love these diapers. We live in an NYC apartment building and wouldn’t be able to cloth diaper any other way. Love the verability and oh so cute!!