There are so many reasons to choose for cloth diapers! Of course there are the cute prints, but besides that there are some other reasons that parents often name when asked why they cloth diaper.

Cloth diapers are:

- Cost-effective
- Environmentally friendly
- Skin friendly
- More natural
- More flexible

Keep on reading to learn why.

Let's be honest: diapers are expensive! Really expensive! Both disposable diapers and cloth diapers will cost you money. But cloth diapers are in the long run much cheaper than disposables. When using cloth diapers, you can safe up to €1000,- for your first child. And when you'll have younger children, you can reuse the diapers, so costs get even lower. 

Disposables
Estimates show that you will spend around €1600,- for the period of 3,2 years, even more when your child is later with potty training or when you use the high-end disposables like Pampers. These costs consist of:

- Disposable diapers (on average 6 diapers a day)
- Disposable wipes (on average 15 a day)
- Pail liners on the diaper pail (on average 3 a week)
- Garbage costs charged for the removal of trash (variable, but on average €4,- per trash can)

Cloth diapers
When using cloth diapers, you will have quite different costs to consider. On average using cloth diapers for 3,2 years will cost you around €500 - €650,- for your first child. Younger children will cost less, as you can reuse the diapers. These costs consist of:

- One set of OneSize fitted diapers with covers (24 diapers and 6 covers will cost you €275,-)
- Costs of washing, includings water, energie and detergent, will cost you on average €255,-)
- Reusable liners will cost you on average €24,-. When you prefer disposable liners, this will cost you on average €105,-
- Reusable wipes will cost you on average €32,45 (for 60 reusable wipes)

The CO2 emission of cloth diapers is 2,3 times lower that that of disposable diapers. Furthermore, the number of acreage of land used to grow the raw materials for cloth diapers is lower than that which is needed to produce the raw materials for disposables.

Some critical parents claim that washing your diapers costs much more water and power than with disposables, which is bad for the environment too. However, these factors are already taken into consideration when looking at the CO2 emission. And did you know that producing one disposable diaper wastes more water than washing one cloth diaper? And that the production and distributing of disposable diapers produces higher CO2 emissions than with cloth diapers?

That means that our planet will thank you for choosing cloth diapers!

(Source: MilieuCentraal)

A new disposable diaper is about 5 millimeters thick when you put it on your baby. But once it's full, it can be around 4 centimeters thick. How they achieve that? By using lots of chemical pods (with the friendle name of Super Absorbing Polyacrylates). These pods are absorb fluids from the diaper, but also retract moisture from the skin, which can lead to diaper rash and dried out skin. Disposable diapers also contain perfumes and not all babies respond well to these chemicals on their sensitive skin. 

Cloth diapers are made out of simple cloth, just like the clothes that your baby wears. Without any added chemicals. That is why allergic reactions are practically non-existent with cloth diapers and you know exactly what you baby has on, without having to read a long list with difficult, chemical names. And did you know that children in cloth diapers don't need creams to prevent diaper rash? That is because diaper rash is usually caused by the drying out of skin that is caused by disposable diapers. So eliminate the source, and your baby's rashes are over!

If you had the choice, would you prefer underwear made out of cotton or out of plastic? Cloth like cotton or bamboo feels more natural and let's your skin breath. Making it feel much more pleasant. The same goes for diapers. 

Cloth diapers are easy to adapt to what your baby needs. Does your child drink a lot? Then you can easily add more absorption to a cloth diaper by using an extra booster. Does your child sleep on it's stomach and is the diaper always wettest at the front? Then you simply fold the boosters in such a way that most absorbancy is at the front of the diaper. Cloth is just as flexible as you!

Obviously there are some downsides to cloth diaper, because it might take somewhat more time than disposables. Fortunately, your washing machine and dryer do most of the work for you. Practically speaking it will cost you about 2-3 extra washes every week, so it is nog that bad.

A lot of new parents don't even consider cloth diapers, because they think it is gross and messy. But this, too, is not as bad as it is always thought to be. Your baby's poop is easy to remove from the diaper by using a disposable liner. Simply lift the liner out of the diaper and through it in the garbage. And when you use a garbage bag or pail liner to collect your dirty diapers, even putting them in the washing machine is a non-touch job. Simply turn the pail liner upside down and the diapers will fall into the washing machine without having to touch them.