Let me be perfectly clear and summarize this article in one paragraph. The majority of my issue with the modern cloth diaper industry is plastic. I also recognize, that there are areas of our lives where plastic use is inevitable. I would never, in any way, shame someone for using what works for their family. So this article is not about the cloth diaper users, who knowingly or unknowingly choose to put polyester on their babies, but it's about the "companies" and their attempt to promote plastic (polyester) diapers as a "green" and "healthy" alternative to disposables.
We are often told about the chemicals in disposables. The phthalates, VOCs, SAPs, and more 3 letter acronyms the majority of us don't care about. "Disposable diaper bad" /"cloth diaper good" are the overarching messages that get thrown at us. Maybe a bit of nuance - "It's OKAY to use disposables every now and then, but cloth is better of course" - what a progressive stance! But what if I told you, that many of the issues cloth diaper companies bring up about disposables, ALSO apply to cloth diapers?
For starters, there are cloth diapers, and then there are reusable diapers. Cloth diapers tend to be made of cloth. Cotton, hemp, bamboo, wool, etc are easily recognized as "cloth". Reusable diapers, are made of variations of plastic. PUL, micro fleece, regular fleece, AWJ, these are all materials that trace their origin back to petroleum - they are man made "cloth". But those in the natural community tend to call this "cloth" - "plastic", because it's just a variation of the stuff your water bottles are made of (in fact, some companies go so far as to use "recycled water bottles" for their reusable diapers, and try to market it as a GOOD thing?)
So what's the big issue? Yes plastic is bad, and we can vaguely recall the reasons why - not sustainably made, never breaks down in the environment (cloth diaper businesses LOVE to tell you all about the landfills, but fail to tell you that your PUL diaper is also going to sit in a landfill for about 500 years), something about breathability? Okay that's not great but it still doesn't sound like a big deal.
Removing the environment from the equation, the biggest issue with reusable diapers is the threat to health.
Link: An Overview of Chemical Additives on (Micro)Plastic Fibers: Occurrence, Release, and Health Risks
One big issue with "cloth" made of plastic is the release of micro plastics. These tiny tiny fibers (think of them like dust, or even lint in the dryer) are released every single time you wear a polyester item of clothing, every time you wash it, and every time you dry it. And it's not just a couple tiny fibers, it's thousands. We have some solid scientific research coming out that suggests micro plastics are very harmful for our health. We inhale them, we eat them, and chemicals on plastic can even be absorbed into our skin
"Once inhaled, microfibres end up in our lungs where they can cause chronic inflammation. This in turn may result in severe illnesses like cancer, heart disease, asthma, or diabetes. Inhaled particles can reach the liver, heart, kidneys, brain, and even the foetus!" (Plastic Soup Foundation)
Link: "Are Clothes Making us Sick" by the Plastic Soup Foundation
"Children under 6 months of age inhale twice the amount of plastic fibres and ingest twelve times more than adults because they often bring their hands to their mouths and spend time on the floor. Microfibres can be especially harmful during the early development of a child."
Microplastics are ALSO very harmful for the environment - remember when you wash polyester it releases micro plastics? Those micro plastics then go into the water supply. If there is PFAs (toxic forever chemicals) in the item as well (several cloth diapers have been found to contain PFAs) then the PFAs can also be released during washing and end up in the water supply. They end up in our oceans. They also end up in our food, when that water is used to irrigate crops, or water animals. This is how we get micro plastics in our food
This excerpt from (link): Mamavations article on disposable and reusable diapers summarizes some of their concerns with plastic in reusable diapers
"A recent study covered in the Journal of Science & Technology looked at the toxicological and chemical signatures of the most common types of plastics using in vitro bioassays and nontarget high-resolution mass spectrometry. They found that “Most (74%) of the 34 plastic extracts contained chemicals triggering at least one endpoint, including baseline toxicity (62%), oxidative stress (41%), cytotoxicity (32%), estrogenicity (12%), and antiandrogenicity (27%).” Here is how they ranked the plastics from highest to lowest concern. Notice that PUR is close to the very top of concerns and therefore should not be used around infants inside diapers, especially if you are planning to wash over and over again which could break down the polymers over time."
"Pete Myers, Chief Scientist at Environmental Health Sciences, Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University, and Co-Author of Our Stolen Future, had this to say: “The chemical issues Mamavation has uncovered here sound like the Wild West. This is one industry that needs to clean up its act with much greater transparency and much stronger efforts to avoid toxic chemicals. Clearly, the chemistry of diapers can be as messy as what the babies unload into them. Actually, much messier because of the presence of chemicals like PUR and PFAS. In terms of cloth diapers, you are best off using organic cotton diapers that do not contain additives to make them more absorbent or more waterproof. Even PLA can be problematic.”
This is big.
I also take issue with the narrative that cloth diapers are by default better than disposable health-wise. What are we comparing? Are we comparing a micro fleece lined mass produced pocket diaper to a cotton lined disposable like Kudos? I'd have to say you are wrong then, because the material on the disposable is a natural fiber, touching the skin, as opposed to a synthetic (albeit a washable one). There are other considerations of course, like cost, and the fact that the disposable won't completely break down in the landfill, but from purely a health perspective I disagree.
Are we comparing an organic cotton prefold to a Huggies? Then I lean the other direction.
We could also talk about the lack of oversight in the cloth diaper industry, lack of regulation, misleading marketing claims, fast fashion element, and issue with producing them overseas, but those are all topics for another article.
Finally, let's talk about covers. Most of my article has been focused on pocket diapers, the issues with letting plastic touch babies skin. But what about PUL covers? If you are using a 360 degree absorbency natural fiber with a PUL cover over it, I'd say that is considerably better. For one thing the cover isn't touching babies skin, the natural fiber is. You would still have issues such as micro plastic release when washing the cover, and issues like breathability, as well as possible PFAs exposure, but it's a huge step in the right direction. 360 degree absorbency options include cheaper options like woven cotton flats, all the way up to more expensive options like handmade fitted diapers.
"Hannah I would really like to cut most microplastic exposure out of our diapering, what should I do?" Wool covers and a natural fiber inner. Wool has so many benefits - it's breathable, sustainable, it breaks down in the environment, requires less washing, etc.
For the natural fiber inner you've got some choices to make. Are you okay with bamboo? Check out this article for some background info on that (Link:) https://highlandbaby.store/blogs/news/bye-bye-to-bamboo-5-reasons-highland-baby-is-vetoing-viscose
Also take a look at spandex, a common additive to stretchy materials. It is a synthetic, albeit used in very small quantities (typically 4-10% of total fabric content). If you are cool with spandex, there are tons of fitted, preflat, and stretchy flat options for you. Want to avoid it? Our 100% organic cotton flats are a soft AND stretchy (due to the knit) way to avoid spandex. So are woven cotton flats. Organic cotton is preferable, and check that the company uses certified organic cotton (reduces the risk that the cotton was unethically made using forced labor).
This information is intended to empower the consumer to make informed decisions. An informed consumer is an empowered consumer. All of this information is best taken within the context of plastic exposure in our everyday lives. I recommend looking at things like drinking water, food, and clothing to find ways to further reduce micro plastic and PFAs exposure. Here are some additional excellent articles.
Link: Plastic Pollution Coalition
Link: Are your Clothes Making you Sick?