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We’ve always used disposable diapers, but for our youngest, we had heard good things about the Bambino Mio cloth diapers and decided to give it a try.

Bambino Mio Cloth Diapering System

This is my kind of cloth diaper. They were easy to use – just a cloth diaper to fold (there is a boy/girl fold) and insert into a cover, along with a disposable liner. The cover is very easy to close with simple and secure velcro closures, fitting snugly to the baby. From the minimal research I’ve done on reusable diapers, the Bambino Mio system is the most complete cloth diapering system out there – from the cover, cloth diaper, liner, laundry bin to the detergent. Here is my list of pros and cons.

Pros

- One-stop-shop for cloth diapering needs. Bambino Mio offers diaper and cover sets, including a birth-to-potty set, which enables you to purchase all of your cloth diapering needs in one fell swoop. Bambino Mio also offers a laundry bin, laundry bag, wet bag, detergent and antibacterial sanitizer.

- Not as gross as I initially thought. You dispose the liner, so you’re washing a wet diaper, but not any solid waste.

- Reusable diapers are better for our environment than disposables and you aren’t sending the diaper and waste into a landfill. With the Miofresh cleaner, you can even cold machine wash the diapers, and then line dry, if you’re so inclined.   - You can work with a diaper service if you don’t want to invest in the nappies or wash them yourself, although we have our own nappies.

- Disposable & flushable liners are very convenient.

- Snug fit, easy to assemble and put on.

- Seems to absorb well and the liners seem to wick away moisture from baby’s skin.  Doesn’t absorb as well as disposable diapers but the diaper does not contain chemicals to wick the moisture away and the baby’s skin is better protected as we tend to change his diaper more quickly after being soiled.

- Over time, I think we’ll save a ton of $ with the Bambino Mio diaper system over disposables, and this includes costs associated with laundering. Using a baby cost calculator, the cost for disposable diapers is roughly $72/month, cloth diapers I wash myself is $19/month.

- Very natural way to diaper the baby. Our baby is not exposed to unnecessary chemicals in disposable diapers.

Cons

- There are many steps in the diaper changing process. Removing the soiled diaper and liner out of the cover, getting the liner into the toilet, the diaper to the laundry bin, wiping down the diaper cover, then re-diapering the baby…

- The velcro fastenings are easy to use but easily snag on clothing and blankets
- Our diaper covers were soiled immediately following our son’s poop at least once a day, forcing us to do the wash a bit more frequently than was recommended.
- For a cloth diapering rookie, there is some getting used to in cloth diapering a baby.

All in all, the cloth diapering system by Bambino Mio is not that much more complicated than disposable diapers and the benefits to the environment, our baby’s lack of exposure to diaper chemicals and savings to our pocket-book far outweigh any hassle.

GreatDad.com Review Policy: Some of the featured products for this review were provided to us, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. We do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. We only review products that we have personally tested and used in our own homes, and all opinions expressed are our own.

Usually, I don’t like to copy/paste reasons for doing anything from a manufacturer. However, these reasons just seem so obvious that they merit posting. More and more parents are turning to cloth diapers for the benefits they provide to their baby and their baby’s environment. Full disclosure, we did NOT cloth-diaper our babies. We bought into the corporate side of the argument and the now-discredited study that showed no environmental difference between cloth diapering and disposable diapers. That might have been a “possible” argument before the advent of new systems that use very thin disposable liners to keep the poop off clothes and the reusable underpants. It’s almost worth having another baby just so I could do it all over again the right way, rather than living with the guilt that keeps me up all night about all that landfill (kidding).

1. Better for the environment

Over 27 billion disposable diapers go to landfills every year in the United States. They take hundreds of years to decompose, releasing methane gases.

2. Going green

Latest environmental reports confirm that using cloth diapers is 40 percent better for the environment than disposable diapers.

3. Save money

Taking everything into account, you will save hundreds of dollars per child by switching from disposables to cloth diapers.

4. Potty train earlier

Disposables are so absorbent that toddlers do not feel the sensation of being wet. Cloth diapered children often potty train six months earlier than those in disposable diapers.

5. Better for bottoms

Many parents believe there is a link between diaper rash and the chemicals used in disposables. Cloth diapers are breathable, allowing air to circulate to the skin, helping to maintain a healthy temperature.

6. It’s convenient now

Cloth diapers do take a commitment and an initial investment, but this aside they are just as convenient to use as disposable diapers. No soaking necessary.

7. They deliver

If hesitant about cloth diapering, consider using a diaper service in the beginning. Used cloth diapers are collected from your doorstep weekly and clean ones are delivered in their place.

8. They are comfortable

Today’s cloth diapers have evolved from “grandma’s” bulky terry diapers and sweaty plastic pants. Modern cloth diapers are made from soft natural materials and covers are available in stylish prints. Pins have been replaced by Velcro® style hook and loop closures.

This list was sent to me by Bambino Mio, which we have recently reviewed on the GreatDad.com blog.

Something stinks – let’s look at the environmental impact of diapers by Alison Manes

According to disposablediaper.net, 96,090,000 disposable diapers are used every year in the US alone. The third largest single consumer item in landfills, they represent about 4% of solid waste.4 In a household with a child in disposable diapers, disposables comprise of at least 50% of the household waste. The instructions on disposable diaper packages advise depositing all fecal matter in the toilet before discarding the diapers, yet less than one-half of one percent of all waste from single-use diapers goes into an average sewage system.

*The amount of water used to launder cloth diapers at home averages 50 – 70 gallons every two to three days –the same as an adult or child flushing the toilet five/six times daily.

*It is estimated that disposable diapers take 250-500 years to decompose. 1

*Over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum & 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby each year. 1

*Once they are used, roughly 92-98% of the 18 billion feces and urine-filled disposable diapers end up in landfills. 2

As parents are more informed about the true cost of so-called “convenient” disposable diapers, they realize there’s much more than money at stake. While cloth diapers add an extra few loads of laundry to households every week, the benefits to your baby’s health, our environment and your wallet are well worth it. Be part of the solution, right from the very beginning.

For more information on cloth diapering visit the Real Diaper Association at http://www.realdiaperassociation.org.

1 Diapers in the Waste Stream: a review of waste management and public policy issues. Lehrburger, Carl. 1988. Sheffield, MA: self published.

2 Consumer Choice-Diaper Dilemma. Stone, Janis and Sternweis, Laura. Iowa State University-University Extension. ID# 1401. 1994

Alison Manes is the mother of six, and the co-founder of Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC. Alison won Tucson’s Business Woman of the Year award from the American Business Women’s Association in 2003 for her marketing work. Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC, manufacturers a new sustainable diapering system using organic and recycled fabrics. Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC, is committed to manufacturing sustainable products made in the USA. You can view LolliDoo® Diapers at www.lollidoo.com. You can also view Alison’s blog at http://earthymommaodyssey.blogspot.com/.

(Editor’s note: Here are more arguments in favor of cloth diapers. Everyone needs to make the best informed choice on this “paper versus plastic-type” debate, but it’s in everyone’s best interest to know the facts.)

Cloth diapering your young one’s bum is not only eco-friendly; it offers a solution to the highly absorbent chemicals found in disposable diapers. Consider the following.

*Babies in cloth diapers have fewer diaper rashes.1

*Cloth diapers are soft on baby’s delicate skin.1

*Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. SAP has killed children after ingesting as little as five grams.2

*Scrotal temperature increases in boys wearing disposable diapers affecting spermatogenesis which can lead to infertility. 2

*Disposable Diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) — a toxic pollutant pollutant, which has a hormone-like effect. The smallest concentrations of TBT can harm people’s immune systems and impair their hormonal system. 3

Sources:

1 http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu

2 Whitewash: Exposing Health and Environmental Dangers of Women’s Sanitary

Products and Disposable Diapers, what you can do about it. Armstrong, Liz and

Adrienne Scott. 1993. HarperCollins.

3 New tests Confirm TBT Poison in Procter & Gamble’s Pampers: Greenpeace demands world-wide ban of organotins in all products. May 15, 2000.

Alison Manes is the mother of six, and the co-founder of Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC. Alison won Tucson’s Business Woman of the Year award from the American Business Women’s Association in 2003 for her marketing work. Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC, manufacturers a remarkable new sustainable diapering system using organic and recycled fabrics. Go Green Sustainable Industries, LLC, is committed to manufacturing sustainable products made in the USA. You can view LolliDoo® Diapers at www.lollidoo.com. You can also view Alison’s blog at http://earthymommaodyssey.blogspot.com/.