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Read the rest of this articleThere's only one winner in green diapers
In the past, a green diaper was a cloth diaper. If a family wanted to be eco-friendly and avoid the harsh realities of a diaper sitting in a landfill for half a millennium, they would have to devote a lifetime (or at least it feels like a lifetime) to redundant cleaning and washing. Now, however, hybrid diapers offer the eco-friendly benefits of a cloth diaper with the convenience of a disposable diaper.
Green diapers have become a hot topic because of the distressing statistics surrounding the disposable diaper industry. According to the Real Diaper Association, 27.4 billion disposable diapers end up in landfills. The EPA estimates that is more than 3.4 million tons of waste.
The $5.7 billion disposable diaper industry continues to grow and with its growth, the amount of carbon emitting waste also continues to grow, but a new segment of the market, green diapers, may actually have an environmentally friendly impact.
So who has the best hybrid diaper?
gDiaper, one of the first to introduce the green diaper, offers a flushable inner diaper that has no chlorine, perfumes, or plastic. It can be disposed of in a toilet (as long as the diaper is opened and stirred around), compost pile, or trash can--all of which have very little negative environmental impact. In fact, it only takes about 50-150 days for the diaper to decompose.
The most appealing differentiator of the product is its flushability as it enables parents to dispose of the dirty diaper without it sitting in a trash can and without having to clean out the dirty diaper.
The gDiaper has a starter package at $26.99 which has 2 outers, 10 flushable refills, 3 water-resistant snap liners, and a swishstick to wash around the diaper in the toilet. The refill packs start at $14.99 for 40 small inners or 32 large inners. The average flushable refill runs at about $0.36 if bought in bulk.
The newcomer to the green diaper seen is a company called Gro Baby which offers a petrolium- and plastic-free, compostable inner soaker pad. The waterproof outer layer is made from corn and it too is compost-ready. The whole line is specially designed for commercial composting programs.
Gro Baby differentiates themselves from other green diaper companies by offering a one-size fits all, compost-ready outer that was ergonomically designed to prevent leakage while at the same time maintaining comfort.
The Gro Baby starter package is $34.95 for an outer shell and 50 soaker pads and their average refill pad is about $0.40, but Gro Baby promotions often lower this price.
Of course, hybrid diapers are not the only green diapers. There are many green diaper companies that offer a variety of different cloth diapers that are made from organic materials and disposable diapers that use more eco-friendly materials.
When all is said and done, however, the gDiaper seems to have the upper hand on its green diaper competitors as its flushable convenience, at a very similar price, is just hard to beat.
Sure, every parent is different when it comes to determining the best diaper for their child (decisions are made based on comfort, design, absorbency, leakage, etc.), but when it come to a quality hybrid, green diaper, it is hard to beat gDiaper.
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Comments
gDiapers has a better market share since they have been around far longer. The Gro Baby inserts are very new. However, as a parent who has tried both brands, I can say that the Gro Baby inserts are far more convenient.
Sure, you can flush gDiapers, but they leak horribly. A messy gDiaper insert is not going to get flushed since you need to handle it pretty extensively to tear it open then flush the pieces. Gro Baby inserts have a wonderful set of elastic gussets on the sides that actually does what a diaper is supposed to do - contain poop.
I like them so much, I decided to carry them in my store. I decided not to carry gDiapers because my personal experience using them on my baby was so gross.
I have not heard of the leaking problem with gdiapers yet, but I would have to agree that the Gro Baby inserts are great!
Please look carefully at this study. I know it is long and complicated! But basically you need to know what "flushable" really means! It is just not that simple ....
http://www.cityofvancouver.us/upload/images/PublicWorks/Official_City%20...
I really think that cloth is the way to go. It is even cheaper in the long run. The grobaby diapers have wonderfully soft inserts. All you have to do is wash and reuse, thus you have nothing to flush, nothing to throw away.
If you are set on gdiapers, you could also get the cloth inserts, making them more eco-friendly and wallet friendly too!
How about you do a review of straight cloth diapers like the Natural Baby Company's other lines not just gro baby. Both of these diapers reviewed still make waste as they are generally sent to a landfill, and are chinese made. Natural Baby Company does have a couple diapers that are cloth (the real green diapering) and made domestically (another real green attribute). Don't be fooled mothers.
Gro Baby is hand down our favorite diaper, as I really think cloth is better. We started off with gdiapers that someone had given us as a gift. After so many leaks and realizing that flushing was wasting a lot of water we went to cloth. We found Gro Baby at our local Whole Foods store and have never looked back.
We are traveling to Mexico in February and after reading reviews I am tempted to try our the Biosoakers from Gro Baby.
I have used, & still use both of these. I have 3 kids in diapers, twin preschoolers & a 6 month old. They both have their good points. I prefer the gRefills for my preschoolers, for me they seem less messy. My twins have "overfilled" the gro babys with poop. For my little one I use cloth while at home, prefolds & flat folds inserted into the gpants. I like the gpant better because of the way they are built. The inner snap in liner stay below the waist band & I have not had any trouble with wicking like I have with every other diaper I have tried! My little one is breastfed & can poop out ALL disposables, but colth, expecailly the gDiapers keep it all contained! As far as flushing the gDiapers, I only flush the poopy ones & I have had some very messy ones, but have never gotten any poop on me from ripping them (I can't say the same for cloth!). I will say that the groBaby inserts work fairly well in the meduim gPants without having to tape them down, but they have to be taped in the large (I would not recommend taping them I still have some of the tape in a couple of the liners).
I don't really think this should be about which was is the best & should be the ONE biodiaper. I think it is great that their are choices now! 150 DAYS compared to 500 YEARS! I hope these are only the beginning! I know that another one has just been introduced called "Flip" I have not had the chance to try them out yet. Just keep the Green opptions coming!
There is still nothing better than cloth. Gro Baby diapers far exceed gDiapers in my opinion. I couldn't be happier with the Gro Baby products. I use cloth 99% of the time, but it's nice to have the biodegradable inserts on occasion (long day away from home, vacation, etc).
I have tried three brands of disposable pad in a reusable cover and reviewed each on my blog. I like gDiapers and Gro Baby, but I do not like the bum genius Flip.
http://www.nappyshoppe.com/blog/?p=159 This article compares gdiaper and grobaby inserts.
http://www.nappyshoppe.com/blog/?p=154 This one reviews just the grobaby inserts.
http://www.nappyshoppe.com/blog/?p=14 This reviews gdiapers
http://www.nappyshoppe.com/blog/?p=294 And this is my review on the flip system.
I really enjoyed reading another opinion comparing grobaby and gdiapers. I would love to hear your thoughts if you try out the bum genius flip system.
Sharni
I disagree with most of this article with the exceptions of the discussion on Gro Baby diapers. The only true green diapers are 100% cloth diapers. Forget the disposable nonsense. I use and love Gro Baby diapers and have never and will never use the disposable inserts. This is one reason I will never use gDiapers. They are not a true green diaper unless they offer a reuseable/washable insert which I have not seen.
Gdiaper offers a cloth insert, they aren't as obsorbant as grobaby's though
I MUCH prefer our Gro Baby's over our gDiapers. The inserts are WONDERFUL! We use the cloth inserts on my 2 year old for night time and will soon be using them on a newborn (once he/she grows into them). I couldn't be happier, it is a great alternative to Prefolds and covers (old school diapers LOL) although we love those as well in our home. We primarily cloth diaper but use the disposable inserts for travel, and they are wonderful! The "elastic" in the gro baby's disposable insert keeps all the mess in! I look forward to trying it with and exclusively breastfed newborn.
We have 3 kids and all have used cloth diapers and some disposable. I've tried gDiapers, Gro Baby, Nature Baby, etc. For ease of use and disposal, hands down gDiapers are great. I recently bought 4 packs of Gro Baby inserts thinking they would be similar to gDiapers. I used them in my existing cloth diaper covers (as I do with my gDiaper inserts). The Gro Baby inserts are horrible, they last less longer than a gDiaper or a cloth diaper; and even though I don't ever use the stickies on the bottom of the insert to stick to the cover, the insert always end up sticking to the cover and twice ruined my Pro Rap covers. We travel often and to faraway places, so cloth is not always convenient or best. I can also use my gDiaper covers with my cloth diapers. Does anyone want to buy my unused Gro Baby inserts (size 2)? I'm in the East Bay, California
We have 3 kids and all have used cloth diapers and some disposable. I've tried gDiapers, Gro Baby, Nature Baby, etc. For ease of use and disposal, hands down gDiapers are great. I recently bought 4 packs of Gro Baby inserts thinking they would be similar to gDiapers. I used them in my existing cloth diaper covers (as I do with my gDiaper inserts). The Gro Baby inserts are horrible, they last less longer than a gDiaper or a cloth diaper; and even though I don't ever use the stickies on the bottom of the insert to stick to the cover, the insert always end up sticking to the cover and twice ruined my Pro Rap covers. We travel often and to faraway places, so cloth is not always convenient or best. I can also use my gDiaper covers with my cloth diapers. Does anyone want to buy my unused Gro Baby inserts (size 2)? I'm in the East Bay, California