I’d very much like to see more details on the research mentioned in this article, which reports that the British government, out of embarrassment at having encouraged environmentally-conscious people to use cloth diapers – sorry, nappies – for such a long time, is suppressing a study that found that, unless they’re washed and dried under rather austere conditions, cloth diapers actually have a worse effect on the climate than do disposable ones. In particular, I’d love to see whether the study takes into account the remarkable amount of space that disposable diapers take up in landfills, as well as the effects that they have on soil and water when they finally do decompose: if these sorts of things are taken into account, I have trouble imagining that cloth diapering doesn’t turn out looking pretty green.

For what it’s worth, Angela and I use cloth diapers for Jack and have not – and contra the prediction of Katherine Mangu-Ward – found them to be especially “disgusting”, though this may be in part because we don’t have our own washer and so end up sending them off to a diaper service to be laundered. (It would also be nice to know whether the British study took the greater efficiency of such services’ washing and drying methods into account.) The increased effort that it takes to put them on and occasionally clean the covers by hand is of course a mild inconvenience, but in our minds it’s well worth it when one factors in, as Angela enthusiastically reminds me that one must, the fact that cloth diapers are often said to be healthier for their wearers and encourage potty-training by allowing kids to be able to tell when they’ve wet themselves. And as I said, it’s hard to believe that they’re not better for the environment overall …

Image of my adorable kid via me.

     Filed under: environment, science/tech