How much waste does a baby wearing disposable diapers really generate?

Cotton Babies has long been frustrated by the lack of information available about how each baby wearing disposable diapers impacts landfills.

We are working on a project to collect data about how much used disposable diapers weigh. The goal of this project is to estimate the approximate weight of the waste generated from a child wearing disposable diapers full time. 

To participate, please have your baby wear one disposable diaper for a normal length of time (as you define it). At the next diaper change, please weigh that disposable diaper.  You can submit the information about that diaper using this form:

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2vcyg3lg8kjrgtb/start

After the data is collected and summarized, we will publish the results here on this blog for the benefit of the entire cloth diapering community.  Multiple submissions per family are welcome, but please sure that each submission reflects the information for one diaper only.  Thank you in advance for your participation and for telling your friends so they can help too!

Kindest regards,

Jennifer Labit, Owner
Cotton Babies, Inc.

Winner of the Earth Day Rockin Green Soap Giveaway is....Kayla! Comment #96

Congratulations Kayla of Monkey Sew, Monkey Do! She was Comment #96 and is the Winner of a New Bag of Rockin Green Soap! Thanks so much to everyone for participating! Kayla, please contact me asap to claim your prize. :)

TWO Eco-Fabulous FaceBook Fan Giveaways! End tomorrow, check them out!

Two super cute and super green giveaways going on now over on the Earth Angels Diaper Co. FaceBook Page! Make sure you head on over and check them out! Happy Earth Day!

CLOSED Have a Rockin Earth Day! Pimp Your Stash with Rockin Green Soap! (Ends 4-23-10)

This week's Earth Day Pimp Your Stash Winner will receive a bag of Rockin Green Soap in the style and scent of their choice and is sponsored by Rockin Green! Rockin Green Soap is a fabulous new product that's changing the way we wash diapers! Available in Soft, Classic or Hard Rock there's a style and scent for everyone.

This weeks mandatory question for your first entry is "Visit Earth Angels Diaper Co and let us know whether you'd need Soft Rock, Classic Rock or Hard Rock Soap?"

Guidelines for Entry
-In order to participate in our weekly contest and validate all extra entries you must first answer the weekly question.

-Please, be sure to be logged into your email account when you post your comment for us to be able to contact you if you win (that is with the option called OpenID). If you have a blog, be sure to be logged into the account linked to your blog for an easier way to contact you....

-This giveaway runs from Thursday (Earth Day) to Friday 12:00pm EST.

-Winners are chosen using random.org, notified on Saturdays and winners name also posted on Blog.

-Winners have 7 days from contest end to claim their prize.

-Participation is open to mamas and papas worldwide! Anyone and everyone is welcome to join in the fun, however we are not responsible for lost packages and prizes that do not reach their destination will not be replaced.

-How to earn extra entries:
* (1) Become a FAN of Earth Angels Diaper Co. on FaceBook
* (1) Become a FAN of Rockin Green on FaceBook
* (1) Follow Rockin Green on Twitter
* (1) Subscribe to our New Newsletter
* (1) Follow DiaperDiscussions/Earth Angels Diaper Co. on Twitter
* (1) Submit or have already submitted a photo to our monthly Fan Photo Contest on FaceBook
* (1) Follow the Diaper Discussions Blog
* (1) Place the Diaper Discussions Animated Banner on your site or Blog
* (3) Tweet About the Giveaway (use #clothdiapers in the tweet and link to the GiveAway using tiny url http://tinyurl.com/276zles) comment with a url to the tweet.
* (3) Advertise our Giveaway in your blog, facebook, forums or website (post with your comment the direct link where you posted about it).
* (10) Contribute an Article, Product Review or relevant story regarding Cloth Diapering. 10 extra entries are given for contributions submitted during the week of the contest. (Please do not contribute articles that were already published elsewhere.)
* (1) Comment to any post on the Diaper Discussions Blog (one entry per each comment)
* (5) Register (or being already registered) in our Affiliate Program (please specify where you placed your affiliate banner).

--- Please post a separate comment for each extra entry and let us know which you've chosen to do in that comment ---

Good Luck!!

My 7yr old daughter demonstrates how to use a Thirsties Duo Diaper and also discusses Earth Day!

Just uploaded! Watch this cute video of my 7yr old daughter as she demonstrates how to use a Thirsties Duo Diaper, talks about why we use cloth and also discusses Earth Day!

Have a Knickernappies diaper? Enter their 2nd Annual Photo Contest and you could win 6 KN diapers!

Have you seen this post over at the Knickernappies Blog?
We're are so excited to announce the launch of our 2nd Annual Knickernappies Photo Contest and this year it's bigger and better than ever! The Grand Prize is huge and what's the best part? You're in control of your own destiny. There's no mystery panel of judges who randomly announce a winner, this time you promote your photo and get as many votes as you can.

Here are the details:

When: Contest runs from April 15-May 15, 2010

Where: Knickernappies FaceBook Page

How to enter: To enter the contest you must be a Fan of Knickernappies on FaceBook. After you've become a Fan you need to upload a photo of your little wearing a Knickernappies Diaper. One entry per person please. In the comments for your photo please add the URL to the store where you purchased the diaper. Make sure to include a clickable link to the store, not just the name.

Eligible photos must be uploaded to the Fan Photos between April 15 through May 15. If you already have a Fan Photo uploaded that you'd like to use as your entry then you need to upload it again so that it will have the proper date and also a link to the retailer.

If your photo does not include a link to a Knickernappies Retailer in the comments it will be deleted and you will have to resubmit . If you don't know the store name or didn't get the diaper new just say so.

How do you get votes? Every time someone "LIKES" your photo it is a vote. When the contest ends the photo with the most "LIKES" is the winner. Comments are encouraged as well but do not count as votes.

How do I promote my photo? We've provided a handy "Vote for Me" button on the left hand column of the Blog. You simply grab the code and replace the code/url that says http://www.knickernappies.bogspot.com with the url to your Fan Photo. You can then place the button on your Blog or Website, on Message Boards, Your FaceBook page, etc. and encourage friends and family to vote for your photo by "LIKING" it.

Another GREAT and EASY way to promote your photo is to "SHARE" it via FaceBook. When you are on your photo in our FB Fan Photos you will see a link to "SHARE" it with your friends and family via your FaceBook Page. When you share it you need to make sure to let your friends and family know that they need to click through the link to the Knickernappies FB Page to "LIKE" it. Liking it on your page when you share it is not the same as liking it on the KN FB Page.

What are the prizes?

Grand Prize-(1 Winner) 6 Knickernappies 2G Sized Pocket Diapers with your choice of inserts (Just Hemp, Microfiber, Loopy-Do's), color, and size!
Runner Up's- (5 Winners) 1 Knickernappies 2G Sized Pocket Diapers with your choice of inserts (Just Hemp, Microfiber, Loopy-Do's), color, and size!

But what about the retailers? Knickernappies will match each winners prize as a donation to The Cloth Diaper Foundation (formerly Miracle Diapers) on the each of the retailers behalf!

Have questions? Post your questions here or visit our FaceBook Page where we'll have a discussion in our discussion forums started to answer your needs and help you with any issues you may have.

*This contest is open to participants worldwide!

Just Julie: Ever sent a diaper or diapers to their grave?

I bet you we've all done it, sent a diaper into the beyond, ended it's career of covering little bums. I'd have to say my first experience in sending diapers to their grave could be considered a mass murder.

I was new at cloth diapering, very new, and hadn't yet got my washing routine down. In fact, I don't think I had any clue how long I could let them sit in the dry pail or what to do. I think I may have even washed some with my regular laundry at first, that was how clueless I was.

Well I distinctly remember going into the laundry room, which was basically part of our garage and not inside the house, and realizing I had a load of diapers in the pail that needed washing and I couldn't remember how long they'd been there. I swore it had only been a couple days but heck, I had twin infants and every day was a blur so I really couldn't be sure.

I dumped them in the washer and did my routine as usual. Fill, Soak, Rinse, Wash, Dry...When it came time to fold and stuff the diapers I realized the black mold of death had set in on them and I was super bummed. They weren't unusable I suppose but looked ugly and I couldn't stand seeing my babies in diapers that had mold stains. In all I think only about three were sent to their retirement and the others survived.

It was honestly the last time I did that. I decided that the whole "outta sight, outta mind" thing was not a good idea with the diaper pail. I needed it somewhere that I wasn't going to forget about it. From then on I pretty much washed diapers every day.

Have you ever sent any diapers to their death? If so, share your story with us I'd love to read them!

December, January, February "Cutest in Cloth" Photo Contest Winners! Better late than never!

Hey mamas! Sorry I totally dropped the ball on the Cutest in Cloth Photo Contest! I'd like to go ahead and get caught up, announce the winners, and also make a few changes in the details of how I'd like it to work.

The changes are that entries must now be submitted as Fan Photos to our FaceBook Fan Page. Each photo will have a date when you submit it and each month a winner will be chosen. After that month you can either re-submit the same photo if you did not win or submit a new photo for consideration.

So, back to business!! The Winner's are...

December 2009's Winner is Justine M. Her photo of her daughter Kieran was just adorable!
January 2010's Winner is Stephanie S. who also submitted the cutest pic of her little guy sporting what looks like a Meadow Duo Wrap by Thirsties!
February's Winner is Kayla D. She submitted a super cute and very hard to resist photo of her daughter wearing a Thirsties Duo over a flat fold! Gotta love the hat!
Thanks to all who entered and I apologize for dropping the ball. I guess we can thank tax season for that. Always too much to do and too little time to accomplish it.

Earth Angels Diaper Co is swaggin it!

Did you know we're Swag-a-licious? That's right! You can now earn $5.00 Earth Angels Diaper Co. Gift Cards in the Swag Store! So save your SwagBucks and spend them wisely.

Don't know what Swagbucks is? It's basically a search engine and to encourage more people to use it they randomly give out swagbucks. You can then save your swagbucks and redeem them for great prizes as well as gift cards to some of your favorite stores.

Another quick and easy way to earn is to sign up and then encourage your friends to join through you. Every time you refer a friend you get swagbucks when they earn swagbucks! It's that easy!

I'm sure there are a ton of Swagbucks Mamas out there so if you have any questions feel free to post them here.

Good Luck and may the Swag Force be with you!

Good Moms

As I watched the comments flowing in on my post about why all moms should be treated with respect, I was overwhelmed by just how many of you have been so deeply impacted by people or companies who questioned your ability to be a good mom - or tied being a good mom to the use of a particular behavior or type of product.

There are hundreds of readers here. So share your stories, mommas.

I'll start... I've had many supportive women in my life over the last seven years of being a mom. One of those women is my mom. She has faithfully provided me with her thoughts about being a parent... but she has also been quiet when I just needed to figure things out on my own. I really love and appreciate my mom.

Tell me about your favorite supportive friend. Tell us about why she (or he) helped you feel like a good mom.

Things I learn about cloth diapers - while traveling internationally

I've done quite a bit of traveling for business. Everywhere I go, I look for cloth diapers and how other cultures handle diaper care. Diaper care is an important issue in other parts of the world too, so I'm just as interested in what people put on their baby's bottom as I am in how they take care of it after it's dirty.

In every bathroom, in every country, I notice the toilet design, what's on the wall, whether or not there is toilet paper, how many years it might have been since the toilet was cleaned... (you get the picture). One thing seems to be consistent (other than a lack of toilet paper).... most bathrooms have a bidet sprayer on the wall.

This has been true in Egypt, France, Germany, England, India... everywhere I've been recently that isn't part of North America! People using cloth diapers in these areas rarely call us with stinky diaper problems, but in the United States, stinky diapers are all the mamas seem to chat about on the diapering forums! I think we are, as a culture, missing something important in our diaper care. It all started when cloth diaper businesses started recommending that parents leave poop in the diapers, instead of dunking and swishing to rinse them out. That recommendation was the popular thing to do when Cotton Babies first started. It's true, you CAN leave the poop in the diapers if you want, but it's going to take more than a few washes to get your diapers clean because the first wash or two is just diapers swishing around in brown, poopy water.

So, parents using cloth diapers in foreign countries are telling me that it is EASY to take care of their diapers and they can't understand why Americans have such a tough time washing diapers. What's the difference? They spray every diaper out in the toilet using the bidet sprayer on their bathroom wall. Every diaper gets rinsed. Their diapers don't sit in a diaper pail full of poop and pee for days before getting washed.

What's the lesson to be learned?

You need a diaper sprayer. Your American toilet didn't come equipped with a bidet sprayer and chances are, you don't even know what one looks like. Save yourself hours of headache and buy a bumGenius Diaper Sprayer for your bathroom. Install it and use it to rinse out your diapers. Ignore the advice from the websites who say you can leave big kid poop in your diapers for days and still expect to easily get them clean. You can't - and you shouldn't. Breastfed baby poop does wash out... don't get me wrong... but once you introduce solids, that poop changes (you'll know when it happens). When it changes, you need to rinse it out. A diaper sprayer makes it really, really easy.

So simple, so easy, so not "deep".... but essential to every cloth diapering parent.

Have you tried one?