What to Look For

There is no easy answer to the "cloth or disposable?" debate. While using disposables means that lots of plastic and human waste ends up in landfills, cloth diapers use a lot of energy in washing and drying them, whether you do so at home or through a service.

Which method you choose will depend on your personal preference. Some day care centers require children to be in disposable diapers, making that the preferred method for working parents. Lots of parents employ both, switching between cloth and disposables depending on work and travel schedules.

Cloth Diapers: Cloth diapers, laundered at home and line-dried, are the cheapest and greenest way to go. There are greater up-front costs than your other diapering options because you have to invest in diapers and diaper covers, but these investments pay off over time, especially if you plan to have more than one baby.

Look for diapers made of organic cotton, which are more expensive than conventional cotton diapers, but help reduce pesticide use. If organic cotton products are too steep for your budget, consider buying used diapers as a way to avoid contributing to pesticide-intensive cotton production. And wool diaper covers are also available, which reduce your child's direct contact with plastics.

Alternative Disposable Diapers: For the environmentally concerned parent who prefers disposables, there are a few brands that use less water, responsibly harvested wood pulp and recycled or compostable plastics; those are listed in our "Product Comparisons" chart.

Usage Tips

• Laundering cloth diapers at home can be cheaper if you line-dry them.

• Avoid diaper services, which cost more than laundering at home, use copious amounts of water and irritating detergents and consume fossil fuels to transport diapers to and from the laundering facility.

• If you use disposables, flush any fecal material down the toilet before throwing it away to reduce the possibility of contaminating water supplies.

• Change diapers often—as soon as baby is wet—to avoid diaper rash.