Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) — The Consumer Product Safety Commission voted to exempt electronic goods and products with lead embedded inside from new rules banning the metal in toys.

The two-member commission, reacting to complaints from manufacturers, also agreed to exempt natural products such as gems and cotton from mandatory testing for lead. The proposal, given initial approval today, will be open for public comment for a month and may be altered.

Companies had urged the safety commission to pass more far- reaching exemptions and to put them in place immediately, before the ban on lead in toys takes effect Feb. 10.

“The deadline is coming up very, very quickly,” said Sheila Millar, a lawyer representing the Fashion Jewelry Trade Association. Companies “want clarity and they need it quickly,” she said.

Still, companies shouldn’t expect a crackdown, said Julie Vallese, a spokeswoman for the commission.

“There’s a need for compliance, but it’s fair to say that the toy police will not be descending on all of America on Feb. 11,” Vallese said.

First Overhaul

Congress passed the first overhaul of consumer protection laws in almost two decades last year in response to a spate of recalls the year before of Chinese-made toys containing lead. While previous regulations included limits on lead, the law toughened the standard and expanded its reach to all products aimed at children 12 and under.

That expansion has ensnared makers of products such as bicycles and books that never thought of themselves as toymakers, said Ed Krenik, a lobbyist at Bracewell & Giuliani LLP in Washington.

The law also forces all makers of children’s products to get independent tests of their toys to prove they don’t contain lead.

Lobbyists representing makers of products such as books, handheld computers, bedding and shoes banded together to petition the commission to exempt them from the new lead standards. They say the independent commission should also remove glass, bolts, mattress padding and other components of products that present no risks to children.

The proposed exemptions considered today are “incomplete and provide no process for adding additional materials which are known to science to not contain lead,” a coalition of handmade- toy sellers wrote to the CPSC on Jan. 3.

The CPSC exempted wool, cotton, silk, gemstones and pearls in its proposal today.

The panel also faces pressure from consumer groups to keep the standards tight. The only lead in toys the commission ruled was “inaccessible” was that which children couldn’t touch, a standard Millar argued is too tight.

“The agency is aware that this one-size-fits-all law doesn’t necessarily fit all sectors,” Vallese said. “But the laws are set and Congress was very explicit.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Drajem in Washington at mdrajem@bloomberg.net

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In recognition of America Recycles Day (Nov. 15), Office Depot has compiled a list of the top 10 ways to recycle at home and in the office.

1. Buy recycled paper and print on both sides. When using paper in the office, print on both sides of the sheet and recycle the paper when you are finished. By recycling one ton of paper, you can save 17 trees, almost 7,000 gallons of water and more than three cubic yards of landfill space.
2. Recycle your outdated technology. According to EPA, Americans throw out two million tons of e-waste each year. Avoid adding to that waste by recycling your old technology. For more information on electronic recycling, visit http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/recycle/ecycling/donate.htm.
3. Make recycling bins readily available. Make sure your home and office are outfitted with recycling bins for paper, plastic and metal. Keep them out in the open and label them appropriately. Sometimes the convenience factor is all that is needed.
4. Recycle your empty ink and toner cartridges. Almost eight cartridges are thrown out in the United States every second of every day. That’s almost 700,000 cartridges per day.
5. Buy remanufactured ink and toner cartridges. Each remanufactured cartridge keeps approximately 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills and saves about a half gallon of oil.
6. Recycle old newspapers laying around the office. When finished reading the newspaper, either leave it for someone else to read or recycle it.
7. Look for the recycled option in all the products you buy. It’s not just paper that is recycled.
8. Buy rechargeable batteries. It takes 1,000 regular batteries to equal the lifespan of one rechargeable battery. When you are discarding your batteries, recycle them.
9. Purchase rewritable CDs and DVDs so that you can reuse them from project to project.
10. Reuse your morning coffee cup. Or better yet, buy a mug to avoid the waste caused by throwing away the paper or Styrofoam.

For more information on America Recycles Day, visit http://nrc-recycle.org/americarecycles.aspx.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cloth menstrual pads are a reusable alternative to disposable sanitary napkins.

They receive praise for being environmentally friendly as well as cost-cutting. They may come with or without wings.

Generally they are made from layers of absorbent fabrics (such as cotton or hemp) which are worn by a woman while she is menstruating, for post-birth bleeding or any other situation where it is necessary to absorb the flow of blood from the vagina. After use, they are washed, dried and then reused.^[1][2]

Basket of various cloth menstrual pads

Cloth menstrual pad

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History

Through the ages women have used different forms of menstrual protection.^[3][4] Women often used strips of folded old cloth (rags) to catch their menstrual blood, which is why the term “rags” was used to refer to menstruation.

Disposable menstrual pads appear to have been first commercially available from around 1888 with the Southall’s pad.^[5] More widely successful disposable menstrual pads had their start during the first world war, when French nurses used Kimberly-Clark‘s wood pulp bandages as a menstrual pad that could be thrown away after use.^[6] Kotex’s first advertisement for products made with this wood pulp appeared in 1921. ^[7]

Until the birth of disposable pads, women used a variety of sewn or makeshift pads made from a variety of fabrics, often leftover scraps, to collect menstrual blood, although some women have used anything absorbent, including grass to collect menstrual blood.^[3] Fabrics could generally be washed and used again. Some women, mostly ones living in rural areas or from a low socio-economic status, did not use anything to collect menstrual blood.^[8] It was believed that they left a trail of blood behind them. When disposable pads were introduced, they were too expensive for many women to afford.^[9] When they could be afforded, women were allowed to place money in a box so that they would not have to speak to the clerk and take a box of Kotex pads from the counter themselves.^[7] It took several years for disposable menstrual pads to become commonplace. However, they are now used nearly exclusively in most of the industrialized world.^[9]

Cloth menstrual pads made a comeback around 1970^[10]. With the number of cloth pad manufacturers and online communities devoted to this increasing in the 1990s and the early 2000s, they appear to be gaining popularity.

In underdeveloped countries, reusable or makeshift pads are still used to collect menstrual blood.^[11]

Current use

The majority of commercially available pads are manufactured by work-at-home moms or small businesses and can be purchased through some health food stores, specialty stores, and via the Internet. They are available in a range of lengths and thicknesses, similar to disposable pads, with longer pads for night use and thinner and shorter pads for light use. Some manufacturers will allow the buyer to select the fabrics, shape and size of the pad so that they can be custom made to fit an individual woman and be as efficient as possible.^[12]

Some women make their own cloth menstrual pads. These pads range from folded wash cloths to pads similar to the cloth menstrual pads available commercially (for examples see references and Lunapads).^[13][14][15]

Cloth menstrual pads may be hand or machine washed, and then dried on a clothes line or in a clothes dryer, depending on the instructions from the manufacturer. (Different fabrics require different care methods.) Some women choose to rinse out their pads in cold water before putting them in the wash with their other clothing. Others do not rinse, but put the soiled pads straight into the wash.^[12]

When changing cloth menstrual pads away from home, some women place the soiled pads into a waterproof or Ziploc bag to keep them from drying out and to contain or prevent odor and then wash the pads when convenient.^[16]

Stains sometimes occur. However, this is limited if the pads are rinsed out or soaked in cold water immediately after use. Some women prefer darker colored fabrics which do not show stains as much as light colored fabrics do. Causes of staining include allowing the blood to dry on the pad and using hot water when washing the pad. Drying cloth pads in sunlight can help to fade stains.^[16][17]

The fabrics used range from 100% natural fibres to 100% synthetics. Some commonly used fabrics include Terrycloth, Cotton, Silk, Hemp, and GoreTex. Specialty fabrics such as hemp and Polyurathane Laminate ( PUL) PUL may be purchased from online nappy/diaper supply stores.^[16]

Some styles of cloth menstrual pad have a waterproof layer to help prevent the pad leaking through while other styles of cloth pad may rely on more layers of absorbency and not include waterproofing.^[16]

Perceived advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

• Cloth menstrual pads are environmentally friendly and do not contribute to landfill as they are reusable and do not come in or contain plastic packaging. When cloth menstrual pads wear out (after years of use), those made from natural materials can be composted whereas disposable sanitary napkins made from synthetic materials cannot be recycled or composted.^[18][19] Fewer chemicals are used in the cloth compared to disposable menstrual products. They create less overall waste compared to disposable menstrual products as they can be made from reused materials, including old pillow cases and towels.^{[20][21][22][23]} Some cloth pads use hemp as the absorbent core which is more environmentally friendly to grow when compared with cotton or wood pulp.^[24][25] Organic options, such as pads made of organic cotton grown without pesticides and chemicals, are available.

• In the long term, it is less expensive to buy and produce cloth menstrual pads compared to disposable menstrual products. They can be made by hand for little or no cost.

• Cloth menstrual pads are highly customizable.

• While less convenient than disposables, they are still convenient as they can simply be cleaned in the washing machine.^[26][2]

• Cloth menstrual pads are less likely to cause rashes, contact dermatitis, as well as helping women afflicted with certain types of vaginitis.^[27] Women with sensitive skin and allergies may find cloth pads to be more comfortable against their skin, particularly cloth pads made of undyed organic cotton. They do not use adhesive.^[28]

• Many women note that they have shorter periods, lighter flow and/or less cramping. Though no studies have, as yet, focused on this phenomenon, anecdotal evidence is widespread. ^[29][26][30] However, this may be an example of the placebo effect or some other form of selection bias.
• Cloth menstrual pads reduce the scent of menstrual blood on the cloth pad. As they are more breathable than the average disposable sanitary pads, they carry less odor.^[19][12]

• Cloth menstrual pads, like all menstrual pads, remove the risk of TSS associated with tampons.^[20]

Disadvantages

• Washing reusable pads requires water. The desire to reuse must be balanced against any local need to conserve water. Also, it is important that the water used to clean pads be disposed of appropriately. Even “biodegradable” soaps take a long time to break down.^[31][32]

• Cloth menstrual pads are generally more time consuming due to the need to wash, dry, and care for the pads.^[33][34]

• Special care may need to be taken if the user has a Candidiasis infection (i.e. yeast infection). Once the infection is treated, the cloth menstrual pads may need to be sanitized in order to prevent reinfection.^[35]

• Initial cost for reusable menstrual products is typically higher per pad than for disposables, although savings over time make them more economical.

http://www.50waystohelp.com/

1. CHANGE YOUR LIGHT
If every household in the United State replaced one regular lightbulb with one of those new compact fluorescent bulbs, the pollution reduction would be equivalent to removing one million cars from the road.

Don’t like the color of light? Use these bulbs for closets, laundry rooms and other places where it won’t irk you as much.

2. TURN OFF COMPUTERS AT NIGHT
By turning off your computer instead of leaving it in sleep mode, you can save 40 watt-hours per day. That adds up to 4 cents a day, or $14 per year. If you don’t want to wait for your computer to start up, set it to turn on automatically a few minutes before you get to work, or boot up while you’re pouring your morning cup ‘o joe.

3. DON’T RINSE
Skip rinsing dishes before using your dishwasher and save up to 20 gallons of water each load. Plus, you’re saving time and the energy used to heat the additional water.

4. DO NOT PRE-HEAT THE OVEN
Unless you are making bread or pastries of some sort, don’t pre-heat the oven. Just turn it on when you put the dish in. Also, when checking on your food, look through the oven window instead of opening the door.

5. RECYCLE GLASS
Recycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20 percent and related water pollution by 50 percent. If it isn’t recycled it can take a million years to decompose.

6. DIAPER WITH A CONSCIENCE
By the time a child is toilet trained, a parent will change between 5,000 and 8,000 diapers, adding up to approximately 3.5 million tons of waste in U.S. landfills each year. Whether you choose cloth or a more environmentally-friendly disposable, you’re making a choice that has a much gentler impact on our planet.

7. HANG DRY
Get a clothesline or rack to dry your clothes by the air. Your wardrobe will maintain color and fit, and you’ll save money.

Your favorite t-shirt will last longer too.

8. GO VEGETARIAN ONCE A WEEK
One less meat-based meal a week helps the planet and your diet. For example: It requires 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. You will also also save some trees. For each hamburger that originated from animals raised on rainforest land, approximately 55 square feet of forest have been destroyed.

9. WASH IN COLD OR WARM
If all the households in the U.S. switched from hot-hot cycle to warm-cold, we could save the energy comparable to 100,000 barrels of oil a day.

Only launder when you have a full load.

10. USE ONE LESS PAPER NAPKIN
During an average year, an American uses approximately 2,200 napkins—around six each day. If everyone in the U.S. used one less napkin a day, more than a billion pounds of napkins could be saved from landfills each year.

11. USE BOTH SIDES OF PAPER
American businesses throw away 21 million tons of paper every year, equal to 175 pounds per office worker. For a quick and easy way to halve this, set your printer’s default option to print double-sided (duplex printing). And when you’re finished with your documents, don’t forget to take them to the recycling bin.

12. RECYCLE NEWSPAPER
There are 63 million newspapers printed each day in the U.S. Of these, 44 million, or about 69%, of them will be thrown away. Recycling just the Sunday papers would save more than half a million trees every week.

13. WRAP CREATIVELY
You can reuse gift bags, bows and event paper, but you can also make something unique by using old maps, cloth or even newspaper. Flip a paper grocery bag inside out and give your child stamps or markers to create their own wrapping paper that’s environmentally friendly and extra special for the recipient.

More ideas: HGTV, Martha, DIY Network

14. RETHINK BOTTLED WATER
Nearly 90% of plastic water bottles are not recycled, instead taking thousands of years to decompose. Buy a reusable container and fill it with tap water, a great choice for the environment, your wallet, and possibly your health. The EPA’s standards for tap water are more stringent than the FDA’s standards for bottled water.

15. BAN BATHTIME!
Have a no-bath week, and take showers instead. Baths require almost twice as much water. Not only will you reduce water consumption, but the energy costs associated with heating the water.

16. BRUSH WITHOUT RUNNING
You’ve heard this one before, but maybe you still do it. You’ll conserve up to five gallons per day if you stop. Daily savings in the U.S. alone could add up to 1.5 billion gallons–more water than folks use in the Big Apple.

17. SHOWER WITH YOUR PARTNER
Sneak in a shower with your loved one to start the day with some zest that doesn’t come in a bar. Not only have you made a wise choice for the environment, but you may notice some other added…um…benefits.

18. TAKE A SHORTER SHOWER
Every two minutes you save on your shower can conserve more than ten gallons of water. If everyone in the country saved just one gallon from their daily shower, over the course of the year it would equal twice the amount of freshwater withdrawn from the Great Lakes every day.

19. PLANT A TREE
It’s good for the air, the land, can shade your house and save on cooling (plant on the west side of your home), and they can also improve the value of your property.

Make it meaningful for the whole family and plant a tree every year for each member.

20. USE YOUR CRUISE CONTROL
You paid for those extra buttons in your car, so put them to work! When using cruise control your vehicle could get up to 15% better mileage. Considering today’s gasoline prices, this is a boon not only for the environment but your budget as well.

21. SECOND-HAND DOESN’T MEAN SECOND-BEST
Consider buying items from a second-hand store. Toys, bicycles, roller blades, and other age and size-specific items are quickly outgrown. Second hand stores often sell these items in excellent condition since they are used for such a short period of time, and will generally buy them back when you no longer need them.

22. BUY LOCAL
Consider the amount of pollution created to get your food from the farm to your table. Whenever possible, buy from local farmers or farmers’ markets, supporting your local economy and reducing the amount of greenhouse gas created when products are flown or trucked in.

23. ADJUST YOUR THERMOSTAT
Adjust your thermostat one degree higher in the summer and one degree cooler in the winter. Each degree celsius less will save about 10% on your energy use! In addition, invest in a programmable thermostat which allows you to regulate temperature based on the times you are at home or away.

24. INVEST IN YOUR OWN COFFEE CUP
If you start every morning with a steamy cup, a quick tabulation can show you that the waste is piling up. Invest in a reusable cup, which not only cuts down on waste, but keeps your beverage hot for a much longer time. Most coffee shops will happily fill your own cup, and many even offer you a discount in exchange!

25. BATCH ERRANDS
Feel like you spend your whole week trying to catch up with the errands? Take a few moments once a week to make a list of all the errands that need to get done, and see if you can batch them into one trip. Not only will you be saving gasoline, but you might find yourself with much better time-management skills.

26. TURN OFF LIGHTS
Always turn off incandescent bulbs when you leave a room. Fluorescent bulbs are more affected by the number of times it is switched on and off, so turn them off when you leave a room for 15 minutes or more. You’ll save energy on the bulb itself, but also on cooling costs, as lights contribute heat to a room.

27. GREENER LAWN CARE
If you must water your lawn, do it early in the morning before any moisture is lost to evaporation. Have a few weeds? Spot treat them with vinegar. Not sure if you should rake? Normal clippings act as a natural fertilizer, let them be. If you’ve waited too long, rake by hand — it’s excellent exercise.

28. PICNIC WITH A MARKER
Some time in between the artichoke dip and the coleslaw, you lost track of your cup, and now there are a sea of matching cups on the table, one of which might be yours. The next time you picnic, set out permanent marker next to disposable dinnerware so guests can mark their cup and everyone will only use one.

29. RECYCLE OLD CELL PHONES
The average cell phone lasts around 18 months, which means 130 million phones will be retired each year. If they go into landfills, the phones and their batteries introduce toxic substances into our environment. There are plenty of reputable programs where you can recycle your phone, many which benefit noble causes.

30. MAINTAIN YOUR VEHICLE
Not only are you extending the life of your vehicle, but you are creating less pollution and saving gas. A properly maintained vehicle, clean air filters, and inflated tires can greatly improve your vehicle’s performance. And it might not hurt to clean out the trunk—all that extra weight could be costing you at the pump.

31. RECYCLE UNWANTED WIRE HANGERS
Wire hangers are generally made of steel, which is often not accepted by some recycling programs. So what do you do with them? Most dry cleaners will accept them back to reuse or recycle. (Cue Joan Crawford.)

32. RECYCLE ALUMINUM AND GLASS
Twenty recycled aluminium cans can be made with the energy it takes to manufacture one brand new one.

Every ton of glass recycled saves the equivalent of nine gallons of fuel oil needed to make glass from virgin materials.

33. TELECOMMUTE
See if you can work out an arrangement with your employer that you work from home for some portion of the week. Not only will you save money and gasoline, and you get to work in your pajamas!

34. KEEP YOUR FIREPLACE DAMPER CLOSED
Keeping the damper open (when you’re not using your fireplace) is like keeping a 48-inch window wide open during the winter; it allows warm air to go right up the chimney. This can add up to hundreds of dollars each winter in energy loss.

35. CUT DOWN ON JUNK MAIL
Feel like you need to lose a few pounds? It might be your junk mail that’s weighing you down. The average American receives 40 pounds of junk mail each year, destroying 100 millions trees. There are many services that can help reduce the clutter in your mailbox, saving trees and the precious space on your countertops.

36. CHOOSE MATCHES OVER LIGHTERS
Most lighters are made out of plastic and filled with butane fuel, both petroleum products. Since most lighters are considered “disposable,” over 1.5 billion end up in landfills each year. When choosing matches, pick cardboard over wood. Wood matches come from trees, whereas most cardboard matches are made from recycled paper.

37. LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE WALKING—ONLINE
Consider if you really need a paper phone book. If not, call to stop phone book delivery and use an online directory instead. Some estimate that telephone books make up almost ten percent of waste at dump sites. And if you still receive the book, don’t forget to recycle your old volumes.

38. GIVE IT AWAY
Before you throw something away, think about if someone else might need it. Either donate to a charitable organization or post it on a web site designed to connect people and things, such as Freecycle.org.

39. GO TO A CAR WASH
Professional car washes are often more efficient with water consumption. If everyone in the U.S. who washes their car themselves took just one visit to the car wash we could save nearly 8.7 billion gallons of water.

40. PLASTIC BAGS SUCK
Each year the U.S. uses 84 billion plastic bags, a significant portion of the 500 billion used worldwide. They are not biodegradable, and are making their way into our oceans, and subsequently, the food chain. Stronger, reusable bags are an inexpensive and readily available option.

41. FLY WITH AN E-TICKET
The cost of processing a paper ticket is approximately $10, while processing an e-ticket costs only $1. In the near future, e-tickets will be the only option, saving the airline industry $3 billion a year. In addition to financial savings, the sheer amount of paper eliminated by this process is commendable.

42. DOWNLOAD YOUR SOFTWARE
Most software comes on a compact disc, and more than thirty billion compact discs of all types are sold annually. That’s a huge amount of waste, not to mention the associated packaging. Another bonus to downloading your software is that it’s often available for download at a later date when you upgrade to a new computer or are attempting to recover from a crash.

43. STOP YOUR ANSWERING MACHINE
Answering machines use energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And when they break, they’re just one more thing that goes into the landfill. If all answering machines in U.S. homes were eventually replaced by voice mail services, the annual energy savings would total nearly two billion kilowatt-hours.

44. SKIP THE COFFEE STIRRER
Each year, Americans throw away 138 billion straws and stirrers. But skipping the stirrer doesn’t mean drinking your coffee black. Simply put your sugar and cream in first, and then pour in the coffee, and it should be well mixed.

Determined to stir? Break off a piece of pasta from the cupboard. You can nibble after using it, compost, or throw away with less guilt.

45. FIND A BETTER WAY TO BREAK THE ICE
When a big winter storm heads our way, most of us use some sort of ice melter to treat steps and sidewalks. While this makes the sidewalks safer for people, it may pose a hazard for pets who might ingest these products. Rock salt and salt-based ice-melting products can cause health problems as well as contaminate wells and drinking water. Look for a pet-safe deicer, readily available in many stores.

46. USE COTTON SWABS WITH A PAPERBOARD SPINDLE
Some brands of cotton swabs have a paperboard spindle while others are made of plastic. If 10% of U.S. households switched to a paperboard spindle, the petroleum energy saved per year would be equivalent to over 150,000 gallons of gasoline.

47. PAY BILLS ONLINE
By some estimates, if all households in the U.S. paid their bills online and received electronic statements instead of paper, we’d save 18.5 million trees every year, 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and 1.7 billion pounds of solid waste.

48. STOP PAPER BANK STATEMENTS
Some banks will pay you a dollar or donate money on your behalf when you cancel the monthly paper statements you get in the mail. If every household took advantage of online bank statements, the money saved could send more than seventeen thousand recent high school graduates to a public university for a year.

49. USE RECHARGABLE BATTERIES
Each year 15 billion batteries produced and sold and most of them are disposable alkaline batteries. Only a fraction of those are recycled. Buy a charger and a few sets of rechargeable batteries. Although it requires an upfront investment, it is one that should pay off in no time. And on Christmas morning when all the stores are closed? You’ll be fully stocked.

50. SHARE!
Take what you’ve learned, and pass the knowledge on to others. If every person you know could take one small step toward being greener, the collective effort could be phenomenal.

http://www.zany-zebra.com

One of the most frustrating aspects of being new to cloth diapers is trying to figure out the different types of cloth diapers and cloth diapering terminology. When we were researching types of cloth diapers we walked around in an information-overloaded fog for a week. Although it may be confusing at first, most of the terms are easy to figure out once you know a little about them. This list will give you a good start to figuring out cloth diapering “lingo” and the main types of cloth diapers.

AIO – All in One

AIO cloth diapers are shaped very much like disposable diapers with an hourglass shape and elastic in the legs and waist to keep messes inside. All-in-one cloth diapers consist a waterproof outer, an absorbent soaker, and a one-piece inner. They close with snaps or a hook and loop system similar to Velcro, called aplix or touchtape. All-in-one diapers come in different sizes to fit from birth to potty learning. There are two types of AIO: True and Quick Dry. AIOs are one-piece diapers that do not need a cover. This makes them one of the most simple types of cloth diapers.

AI2 – All in Two

AI2 cloth diapers are similar to AIOs except that the soaker in an AI2 is separate from the diaper body. Usually AI2 soaker is snapped to the diaper body, but it may be laid or sewn in also. AI2s do not need a cover because the diaper body has a waterproof outer layer. One advantage to AI2 cloth diapers is that the body and soaker separate for thorough cleaning and quick drying. Another advantage is that the soaker can be replaced if it wears out before the diaper body.

Contours – Contour Diapers

Contour diapers are hourglass shaped but do not have elastic in the leg or waist areas. They are very similar to prefold cloth diapers, but are easier to use because they do not need to be folded. Contour cloth diapers do not have attached closures so they must be fastened with a snappi or diaper pins. Contour cloth diapers do not have a waterproof layer so you will need a cover, unless you plan to let your child go coverless.

Contours – Contour Soakers and Inserts

Contour soakers and inserts are usually rectangular or hourglass-shaped and consist of several layers of absorbent fabric. Contour soakers are separate from the cloth diaper body and may be laid in, sewn in or snapped in to the back of the diaper. Usually QD contour inserts and soakers are left open on two or more sides so the absorbent layers will separate during laundering for thorough washing and quick drying.

Coverless

Many cloth diapering parents do not put covers over contours, flats, prefolds, or fitted cloth diapers when they are at home. Going coverless allows for better air circulation and is a cool option in warm weather. We let our son go coverless around the house in the summer, but our winters call for wool pants!

Back to Top – Types of Cloth Diapers

Diaper Covers

Diaper covers come in different styles and are made from various waterproof materials. PUL, Windpro fleece, and wool are popular diaper cover materials. Diaper covers are used over contours, flats, prefolds, and fitted cloth diapers to provide a waterproof outer layer. Generally diaper covers consist of an hourglass shape with elastic in the legs and waist to keep messes inside. Some diaper covers fasten with snaps or a hook and loop system similar to Velcro, called aplix or touchtape while others simply pull on. Diaper covers come in sizes to fit from birth to potty learning, and when paired with prefolds or flats are a low-cost cloth diapering system.

Diaper Cover Clothing

Diaper cover clothing is known by many names. Longies, shorties, wool pants, wool shorts, soaker pants, and soaker shorts are some of the more common names. Diaper cover clothing is usually pull-on pants or shorts, although skorts, bloomers and capris are popular choices for girls. They are worn over flats, prefolds, and fitted cloth diapers to act as both a diaper cover and article of clothing. Diaper cover clothing can be knit from wool or acrylic yarn, or sewn from wool or fleece fabric. Diaper cover clothing is convenient because it replaces both a diaper cover and regular clothing.

Doubler

Doublers are similar to contour soakers but usually have less layers than a soaker and may be a bit smaller. They can be added to any cloth diaper to add absorbency for naps, long trips or if your child is going through a “super soaker” phase. Some doublers can be used as soakers inside newborn diaper covers or as inserts for newborn sized pocket diapers.

Fitteds – Fitted Diapers

Fitted diapers are very similar to a disposable diaper with an hourglass shape and elastic in the legs and waist to keep messes inside. Fitted diapers close with snaps or a hook and loop system called aplix or touchtape. Fitted diapers are not waterproof and usually require a separate diaper cover, unless your child is going coverless. Because the closures on fitted diapers keep them on without a diaper cover, they are a perfect choice for under wool or fleece diaper cover pants or shorts. Fitted diapers come in true,QD, and pocket styles, and sizes to fit from birth to potty learning.

Flats – Flat Diapers

Flats are probably the type of cloth diapers your grandmother used, and what most people picture when they hear the words “cloth diapers.” Flats are large rectangles, usually made of a few layers of diaper gauze. They must be folded and fastened with diaper pins or a Snappi. Because they do not have a waterproof layer they must be covered with a separate cover, or wool or fleece diaper cover clothing, unless you choose to let your child go coverless. Flats wash and dry very quickly because they do not contain many layers of fabric. They are not the most absorbent choice of cloth diapers, but with diaper covers they are a low-cost cloth diapering system.

Back to Top – Types of Cloth Diapers

Inserts

Inserts are the absorbent material in pocket diapers, and come in many different sizes, styles, and fabrics. By using different amounts of inserts and inserts of different fabrics, you can always provide the perfect absorbency for your child’s needs. Inserts can be contour or trifold. Prefolds, flats, hand towels and other absorbent materials can also be used as inserts.

Longies

“Longies” is anotgher term for wool pants and usually refers to knitted or croched pants. For information about longies, please see diaper cover clothing.

Night Diapers

Night diapers can be as simple as doubled prefolds, or may be diapers made to meet the unique requirements of nighttime diapering. Most night diapers are more absorbent than regular diapers, and may be more bulky because of the extra absorbency. Pocket style night diapers are a great option because the absorbency can be customized to meet your child’s changing needs.

PFs – Prefolds

Prefold cloth diapers are sometimes considered to be a step up from flat diapers. Prefolds are rectangles of absorbent fabric, usually serged on all four sides, similar to flats, but with extra layers of material in the center section. Prefolds need to be folded, then fastened with diaper pins or a Snappi. Prefolds need to be covered with a separate cover, or wool or fleece diaper cover clothing unless your child is going coverless. Prefolds come in several sizes to fit from birth to potty learning and when paired with diaper covers are a low-cost cloth diapering system. Prefold cloth diapers unfold in the wash for thorough cleaning and quick drying.

Pocket Diapers

Pocket diapers are similar to disposable diapers with an hourglass shape and elastic in the legs and waist to contain messes. Most pocket diapers consist of a waterproof outer layer and a stay-dry inner layer of microfleece or suedecloth, however pocket-style fitted diapers without the waterproof layer are gaining in popularity. Pocket diapers and pocket style fitted diapers are often used at night because the stay-dry lining helps baby sleep better. Pocket diapers are unique because the front or back edge is left open for stuffing with an absorbent insert. The insert comes out of the diaper for thorough cleaning and quick drying, and can be replaced if needed without replacing the entire diaper.

QD – Quick Dry

QD cloth diapers have an hourglass shape and elastic in the legs and waist to keep messes inside. The soaker in a QD diaper is separate from the diaper body and may be laid into the diaper, sewn, or snapped to the diaper inner. QD soakers come in trifold or contour shapes. One advantage to QD diapers is that the body and soaker separate for thorough cleaning and quick drying.

Shorties

“Shorties” is another name for wool shorts. For information about wool shorts, please see diaper cover clothing.

Snappi

Snappis are three legged plastic devices that fasten cloth diapers by grabbing the fabric with tiny teeth. Two legs are used to fasten the diaper horizontally and the third keeps the fabric from drooping in the front. Snappis are often used in place of diaper pins because they can be applied without worry about poking the child. Snappis do wear out over time and should be tested prior to each use.

Soaker

“Soaker” can refer to two separate cloth diapering products. Often it refers to the middle layer in cloth diapers that absorbs wetness. An absorbent soaker can be contour, trifold, or true. The term “soaker” can also refer to a pull on style of diaper cover..

Trifold

Trifold inserts and soakers are rectangles of absorbent fabric serged on all four sides and folded into thirds for use. Trifold inserts are stuffed into pocket diapers to provide absorbency. Some trifold inserts are large enough to be folded and laid into a cover like a prefold. Trifold soakers may be laid into cloth diapers or have snaps in the middle section to snap into a diaper body. Some trifold soakers have microfleece, suedecloth, or another fabric on the sections that touch baby’s skin. Both trifold inserts and soakers unfold in the wash for thorough cleaning and quick drying.

True AIO or fitted

“True” is a term sometimes used to describe a cloth diaper that has its soaker sewn inside the the diaper body so the entire diaper consists of a single piece. True AIO diapers may take longer to dry than Quick Dry and some parents worry that they don’t get as clean as diapers with a detached soaker. Because “true” style cloth diapers are one single piece they are a very easy transition from disposable to cloth diapers.

Back to Top – Types of Cloth Diapers

WIO – Wool in One

A Wool in One is not really “in One” because wool fabric requires different care than diaper fabrics do. WIOs are similar to AI2s, having a waterproof outer diaper body made of wool, and a detachable soaker in an AI2 separate from the diaper body. Usually a WIO soaker is snapped to the diaper body, it cannot be sewn in because of the different care required for each fabric. WIO cloth diapers are easy to care for because only the soaker needs to be laundered after each use, the wool outer does not. Like AI2s, the soaker of a WIO can be replaced if it wears out before the wool outer.

WI2 – Wool in Two

“Wool in Two” is a more accurate name for the diaper system known as a WIO.

Wool Pants, Wool Shorts

Wool pants and shorts are a type of diaper cover clothing. Generally they are made of wool fabric instead of knitting or crochet. Knitted or crocheted items are often called longies or shorties.

More Types of Cloth Diaper Resources

Didn’t find what you’re looking for? We strive to provide you with the most helpful up-to-date information, but are only human! Please let us know what we’ve missed, then try one of these articles:

• Types of Cloth Diapers by Diaper Jungle
• Associated Content: Types of Cloth Diapers

Happy Cloth Diapering!

This past August, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) (PL 110-787) was passed by Congress. The goal of this act is to strengthen product safety laws and ensure that only safe products are sold to our children. Unfortunately, this act imposes several new and oppressive requirements that increase costs but do not offer any improvement in the safety of children’s clothing or footwear. The ban that most significantly affects WAHMs is the new ban on lead in children’s products and regulations that take effect beginning February 10, 2009.

The majority of the materials used to manufacture clothing and other textile products – like cloth diapers – are inherently lead-free. Traces may be found in some dyes but these amounts are well below the regulatory limits and very little remains on finished fabrics because of the low application levels and the washing that occurs during processing. However, to be sure the amounts of lead are below the regulatory limits a sample of each product needs to be tested. According to the CPSIA “the new legislation imposes an additional third-party testing requirement for all consumer products primarily intended for children twelve years of age or younger” (Section 102, part B).

With this legislation, all WAHMs who manufacture any product for children will have to send a sample of each product they make to a third party lab and pay for independent testing. Mandatory testing on these inherently lead-free products, to verify that they don’t contain lead, add a financial burden to WAHMs and other small manufacturers while providing no improvement in consumer or product safety. The cost of testing for lead ranges from $130 to $180 per test, and each product component needs to be tested separately.

For example, a jacket with two metal component parts, such as a zipper and snaps, would have to test each component separately at a total cost of $260 – $360. Previously, a small manufacturer might have spread these costs out over several styles by using the same zippers and snaps in each style, however new regulations require testing of each component part after it is removed from a sample product. So let’s say a manufacturer produces 10 different styles… with regulations that require testing of each component part after it is removed from a sample garment – one of each style – the costs of testing increase dramatically to $2,600 – $3,600!  This cost multiplies exponentially if fabrics and threads must be tested for lead, or if different dyes also require their own lead tests.

Unfortunately, without the required certification, products “cannot be sold or distributed in commerce in the United States.” Most of the products offered by WAHMs are one-of-a-kind or a small batches, but the current wording of the legislation requires that WAHMs would have to pay to test every product type – even if it is a unique item or very small batch. Requiring this level of independent testing is without a doubt cost-prohibitive for small WAHM businesses and will force many WAHMs to close their doors forever. Any WAHM or small manufacturer that can survive these costs – and there aren’t many that can – will have to pass those costs on to their customers, so you will end up on the losing end too.

And not only are WAHMs and small manufacturers required to follow these regulations, ALL manufacturers of products for children under age 12 are too. There is no way to tell exactly what will happen in February, but considering the abundance of children’s products that will need to be tested, the cost of these tests and the limited number of laboratories certified to do these tests, it is likely that children’s products will be in short supply and those that are in stock will be more costly than before.

What can you do?
1. Be informed:  Check out National Bankruptcy Day for information about the CPSIA.
2. Get involved: Contact your legislator through Legislative Trade News, or the Senate and House websites. Join the CPSIA Facebook Group to see how else you can help. If you’re a WAHM, sign the petition.
3. Be vocal! Tell everyone you know about the CPSIA – it affects consumers as well as manufacturers and WAHMs. Write letters to your local newspapers, post the above links on your favorite forums, link them in your blog, add the info to your email signature. Ask others to become involved too.

Source: Zany Zebra press release

I have three children in diapers–a nine month old, a two year old, and a four year old who wets at night. In rough numbers, this means our household has changed more than 20,000 dirty diapers in four years.

Now, I’m not a glutton for punishment, and like all working mothers I don’t have a lot of spare time. But I’ve chosen cloth diapers over disposables from the beginning. Like breastfeeding and drug-free childbirth, cloth diapering has always seemed to me to be the most “natural” approach. Yet, even in an environmentally conscious town like Boulder, Colorado, I’m surprised at how few parents use cloth. Some are put off by the perceived inconvenience; others have argued that cloth diapers are actually more harmful to the environment than disposables. To aid you in your own decision, or to help you educate your friends who are new parents, here is a current look at some of the issues involved in cloth and disposable diapering.

Which Is Better for the Environment?
To most, the environmental impact of disposable paper-and-plastic versus reusable cotton diapers seems clear-cut. But delve into the facts, and things begin to get murky.

The debate started to get heated in 1990, the 20th anniversary year of Earth Day.

Environmental awareness was at a peak, and many states were considering initiatives to tax or ban the sale of disposable diapers. Procter & Gamble, the nation’s largest manufacturer of disposable diapers, fearing a loss of market share, commissioned a study by Arthur D. Little, Inc., on the environmental impact of disposable diapers. The study came to the conclusion that, lo and behold, disposables were actually no worse for the environment than cloth diapers. Procter & Gamble followed with an ad showing tree roots in compost, stating, “90 days ago this was a disposable diaper.” After several lawsuits based on the fact that composting facilities for disposable diapers do not actually exist, the ad was pulled, but not until millions of parents had read and believed it. Meanwhile, the National Association of Diaper Services sponsored several reports of its own, prepared by consultant Carl Lehrburger, showing that there was a clear environmental advantage to using cloth diapers.

So which study was right? It depends on your bias. Sponsored research, or any research for that matter, is inherently subjective. The set of assumptions you start with–How many diaper changes will a baby go through in a day? Is the life of a cloth diaper 100 uses or 150?–will greatly influence the outcome of the study. Ultimately, the Little study was deemed misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority in Great Britain, and Proctor & Gamble was prohibited from mentioning the study in its advertising. However, public opinion had already been influenced.

Some of the facts: 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown in landfills each year, taking as many as 500 years to decompose. Disposable diapers make up the third largest source of solid waste in landfills, after newspapers and food and beverage containers–a significant fact, considering they are a single product, used by a limited portion of the population.1 It takes upwards of 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp, or a quarter-million trees, to manufacture the disposable diapers that cover the bottoms of 90 percent of the babies born in the US.2

Some will argue that in areas where water is scarce, disposables are the better environmental choice. However, carrying this argument to the extreme, we should be wearing disposable clothes, and using paper plates and plastic utensils. Washing cloth diapers at home uses 50 to 70 gallons of water every three days–about the same as a toilet-trained child or adult flushing the toilet five to six times a day. A diaper service puts its diapers through an average of 13 water changes, but because of the economies of scale, uses less water and energy per diaper than one laundry load at home.

Today, as a rule diaper services use biodegradable detergents not harmful phosphates. The waste water produced from washing diapers is benign, while the waste water from the manufacture of the pulp, paper, and plastics used in disposable diapers contains dioxins, solvents, sludge, and heavy metals.3 Chlorine bleach, whose manufacture is harmful to the atmosphere, is used in whitening diaper service diapers, but the environmental impact is far greater in the paper-bleaching process used in making disposable diapers.4

Cotton, of course, is not without its evils. Conventionally grown, it is a major user of harmful pesticides. There are, however, several companies offering organically grown, unbleached cotton diapers as an alternative.

Ultimately, instead of getting bogged down in each side’s scientific data, the most commonsense approach is to use commonsense. Weigh the impact of manufacturing and disposing of 8,000 paper-and-plastic diapers over the average diapering period of a child versus that of a few dozen cotton diapers, and decide for yourself which is better for the environment.

Which Is Better for the Baby?
With all the focus on environmental issues, the baby often gets overlooked in a discussion of cloth versus disposable diapers. All parents want to do what’s best for their baby, but many people aren’t aware of, or don’t consider, the short-term and long-term health effects of their diapering choice.

Although the disposable diaper industry spends millions of dollars on ad campaigns touting the fact that their diapers feel drier, there is no benefit to the baby in terms of diaper rash. In fact, diaper rash is caused by numerous factors ranging from food irritations to soaps used on the baby’s skin, and the number one factor in preventing it is frequent diaper changes. For this reason, babies in disposable diapers may experience more diaper rash; because the diapers feel dry, parents tend to change them as infrequently as every four to five hours. But though the outer layer may appear dry, bacteria from the urine is still present in the baby’s diaper, and still comes in contact with the baby’s skin.5 Furthermore, plastic does not “breathe” to let out the ammonia formed in the bacterial breakdown of urine, while a cotton diaper and nylon or wool wrap are breathable, allowing air to circula te to the baby’s skin, keeping it healthy.

Of more serious concern are the toxic chemicals present in disposable diapers. Dioxin, which in various forms has been shown to cause cancer, birth defects, liver damage, and skin diseases, is a by-product of the paper-bleaching process used in manufacturing disposable diapers, and trace quantities may exist in the diapers themselves.6

And what about the material that makes “superabsorbent” diapers so absorbent? If you’ve ever used disposable diapers, you’ve probably noticed beads of clear gel on your baby’s genitals after a diaper change. Superabsorbent diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, which absorbs up to 100 times its weight in water. Sodium polyacrylate is the same substance that was removed from tampons in 1985 because of its link to toxic shock syndrome.7 No studies have been done on the long-term effects of this chemical being in contact with a baby’s reproductive organs 24 hours a day for upwards of two years.

Neither type of diaper can claim to be more sanitary. In the early 1990s, right around the time many states were considering offering incentives to hospitals and daycare centers to switch to cloth diapers, disposable diaper manufacturers attempted to prove that cloth diapers contribute more to the spread of bacteria. In fact, it is the caregiver’s hand-washing habits, and not the type of diapers, that is the deciding factor. “The research in this area was funded by special interests,” points out Janet Primomo, RN, PhD, associate professor of nursing at the University of Washington, Tacoma. “It’s not a question of whether cloth or disposables are more sanitary–it all depends on practices and procedures, such as hand washing habits and what kind of storage containers are used.”

There is, however, a more serious threat of contamination from disposable diapers, because of human sewage going into landfills. The disposal of human waste in residential garbage is technically prohibited, and instructions on disposable diaper packaging recommend that you shake out any fecal matter into the toilet before disposing of it; but in practice this is almost never done. Live viruses in the feces, such as the polio vaccine, can live in landfills for a long period, and if there were ever any leakage, could potentially contaminate a community’s drinking water. So far, there has been no evidence of contamination–this is more of a concern in Third World countries, where landfills aren’t as well constructed, and disposable diapers are being marketed aggressively.

What About the Inconvenience of Cloth Diapering?
It’s true that the thought of rinsing, soaking, and laundering dozens of cloth diapers a week is overwhelming to most new parents. But if you’re a parent, you’re doing laundry around the clock anyway, and what’s a few more loads a week? However, it’s not for everyone–and that’s where diaper services come in. Many parents don’t realize that with a diaper service there’s no rinsing or soaking involved. You don’t even need to flush solids away–you simply throw the soiled diaper directly into a diaper pail lined with a garbage liner. Once a week, you put the bag of dirties out, and a bag of fresh, clean diapers is delivered to your door. Can that really be considered less convenient than throwing a disposable diaper in the trash and taking an extra garbage can out to the curb each week? In fact, with a diaper service there’s the added convenience of not having to remember to buy diapers–you simply never run out.

Yes, you do have to rinse out the occasional soiled diaper cover, and tote back soiled diapers from an outing. But this is really no more inconvenient than sorting glass and cardboard for recycling, and most of us don’t think twice about that. And you don’t have to be a purist. I personally feel that disposable diapers (preferably the chemical-free variety) have their place when I’m traveling and not close to laundering facilities.

Even home laundering diapers isn’t necessarily as time-consuming as you may think. Ginny Caldwell of Ecobaby argues that it takes less time to dump a load of cloth diapers into the washing machine and transfer them to the dryer than it does to shop for disposables, load them into the car, unload them at home, and take out an extra garbage can once a week.

But Isn’t a Diaper Service Expensive?
Although a diaper service seems like a luxury, in fact it can cost considerably less than using disposables–and home-laundered cloth diapers are, of course, the cheapest alternative of all.

Each week, many parents think nothing of buying a pack of disposables, whose cost is often hidden in the grocery bill. But when you add it up over the entire diapering period, the costs are substantial. The figure, of course, depends on the number of diaper changes a day (as pointed out earlier, babies in disposables are often changed less frequently–at the expense of the baby’s health) and the age at toilet training. But assuming an average two and a half-year diapering period, and an average of eight to ten diaper changes a day (based on every hour for newborns, every two hours for toddlers) this translates to 7,000 to 9,000 diapers over the diapering period. At an average price of $.24 per disposable diaper (premium diapers cost closer to $.33 apiece), the price tag for disposable diapering is around $2,000, plus several hundred dollars for garbage disposal costs of an additional can per week.

By contrast, diaper services charge anywhere from $10.00 to $15.00 a week, depending on the part of the country you’re in. This works out to $1,300 to $2,000 over two and a half years, for clean diapers delivered to your door each week, the use of wraps in whatever size you need at the time, and a diaper pail. if you have more than one child in diapers, the price drops considerably (usually by 75 percent) for the second child.

Home diapering, on the other hand, can be done for as little as $400, or as much as $1,200, depending on the type of products you buy. Well-made products should last for subsequent children. Diapers can range anywhere from $20.00 a dozen for diaper service-quality prefolds, up to $60.00 or even $100 a dozen for fitted, contoured diapers with snaps or organic cotton diapers. You’ll need somewhere between three and five dozen. Covers range from $4.00 to $18.00 apiece, depending on the quality and material, and you’ll need up to 25 (about five in each size range). Figuring in detergents and energy costs of about $.60 per load, the average parent will spend well under $1,000–usually more like $500–for home diapering.

An Added Benefit: Earlier Potty-Training
Another advantage to cloth diapers is that they usually lead to earlier toilet training because the child actually knows when he or she is wet. Now that many children go straight from disposable diapers to disposable pull-ups, it’s not uncommon to see four and five year olds who still aren’t completely potty-trained wearing pull-ups to school. This has an obvious impact on the child’s self-esteem, not to mention the added impact on landfills.

“We get customers calling up to start a diaper service when their child is three and a half and not yet toilet trained,” says Brian Smithson, president of the National Association of Diaper Services. In fact, several diaper services around the country are, as an incentive, starting to offer the service free after the 30th month if your child is not toilet trained by then.

“We live in a fast-paced society where people don’t want to deal with the `yuck’ factor,” adds Smithson. “Parents look at a diaper as a container that doesn’t leak and can be left on for eight hours, instead of looking at it as clothing worn on the most sensitive parts of the body. Shouldn’t we b e changing babies when they wet?” Adds Erica Froese, owner of Mother-Ease Diapers, “A diaper is not meant to be used as a toilet.”

The “Bottom” Line
Aside from the environmental and health arguments, many parents feel, as I do, that cotton is a purer, softer, simpler choice than paper and plastic, and that if their babies could vote, they’d choose cloth themselves. In fact, my four year old, who has tried pull-ups at night and inevitably wakes up with an itchy rash, has made it clear to me that she prefers cotton. Many cloth diaper companies are now offering adult sizes, as incontinent adults look for alternatives to the feeling of a mushy mass of paper wadded between their legs.

The bottom line is that choosing cloth diapers doesn’t have to be a daunting prospect–it’s simple, it’s convenient, it’s inexpensive. And it’s the best choice you can make for the health of your baby, and of the planet.

NOTES
(1.) EPA, “Positive Steps towards Waste Reduction,” June 1989.
(2.) Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Corporation.
(3.) Cad Lehrburger with Rachel Snyder, `The Disposable Diaper Myth,” Whole Earth Review (Fall 1988): 61.
(4.) See Note 3.
(5.) Nan Scott, “Nan Scott’s Newsletter for Parents.”
(6.) EPA, “Integrated Risk Assessment for Dioxins and Furans from Chlorine Bleaching in Pulp and Paper Mills.”
(7.) Judy Braiman-Lipson, Empire State Consumer Association, Rochester, NY.

Jane McConnell and her husband, Jeff Heyman, share the diapering responsibilities for Jack (9 months), Henry (2), and Lucy (4). She works as a part-time freelance writer and an associate editor for Mothering from her home in Boulder, Colorado.

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