Diapers Q&A

Was it controversial to use disposable diapers back in the 1970's just like it is today?

I was born in '78 and my mom used disposables on me. She said everybody who could afford them was using them, nobody was talking about landfill space as they do today. She went on to say that they were seen as innovative and much more comfortable for babies then cloth. So when and why did this whole guilt complex about using plastic diapers really start?? BTW - I personally think disposables are an awesome invention after babysitting my nephews. I don't get why people are still worked up over the whole "cloth v. disposable", I mean we all throw out a ton of GARBAGE everyday, all of us. It's a part of modern life and it's bizarre to waste so much time worrying about it. Just my $0.02 :D

Public Comments

1. because disposable diaper take a long time to degrade and break down- cloth diapers are better for your skin and dont haev teh hrash chemicals tat dispoables do and they truth are better for the earth- my son had a horribel rsh andd i put him on cloth for a few dadys and his rash went away and he seemed much more comfortable
2. I'm not sure. I was a 70's baby and my Mom used cloth. The disposibles broke us out, so she didn't really have a choice. I've never heard her mention it being an issue. She even said she kept a few disposibles for church or travel. The way she talks it was a wonderful step for baby hygeine. I remember it being a bit of an issue in '98 when I had our eldest. So I'd guess the healthy kick that started in the 80's is the decade it occurred.
3. I was born in 1967, and when I had my first child I 18 years ago,I used cloth diapers. My mom said that when I was in diapers, women used cloth ones at home and disposables when they left the house...back then most women & kids stayed at home more often. They had no idea that it would take 500 years to biodegrade a disposable diaper, but cloth diapers is what most women were used to
4. We weren't as aware in those days of the necessity of biodegradable items. However, even though we're now aware, it doesn't seem to have affected the diaper industry. Eighty percent of the diaperings in this nation are done with disposables. That comes to 18 BILLION diapers a year. Each one has an outer layer of waterproof polypropylene and an inner layer of fluff made from wood pulp plus super-slurper sodium polyacrylate that can hold a hundred times its weight in water. Those 18 billion diapers add up to 82,000 tons of plastic a year and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp -- 250,000 trees. After a few hours of active service these materials are trucked away, primarily to landfills, where they sit, neatly wrapped packages of excrement, entombed undegraded for several hundred years. It is illegal in most states to dump human waste in landfills. That law is simply unenforced when it comes to diapers.
5. I was born in 1985 and my parents used cloth nappies, I just remember my little brothers runny poo leaking out onto me. I use disposables, sorry environment, I do not have time for the extra work of taking care of cloth nappies, but I dont waste electricity, fuel or water so I think I can have this one vice.
6. I have used Pampers for each child , our daughter born 9 yrs ago and soen just born last month. My parents had to use triple cloth diapers in 74 on me since both my hips were dislocated at birth and I was a premie when I was born but my mom told me she got smart a few months in when they had to clean the diapers all the time she would put the Pampers Yes Pampers on first then the cloth diapers on top of the pampers to keep my hips in place.