Unbleached Diapers: The Perfect Alternative to Cloth Diapers

Chlorine-free Diapers Are Safer for the Environment and for Your Baby

S.V.
You're a new parent with a heightened awareness about environmental issues, yet you're sleep deprived. In the quest for providing your newborn with the healthiest possible alternatives you're overcome by the desire to simplify your life, so you reluctantly opt for disposable diapers to outfit your child. You might be surprised to find out that you actually don't have to make a choice between health and convenience. Unbleached diapers may provide you with just the answer you've been looking for in your sleep-deprived initiation into new parenthood.

Environmentally-friendly companies are meeting the demands of like-minded consumers, which fortunately means that if you want to live a truly green life, you'll be able to do so with little effort involved. Unbleached diapers can provide you with the peace of mind you desire, and your infant can avoid the potentially harmful effects of bleached diapers which contain dioxins.

Seventh Generation is one company that offers chlorine-free diapers, hygiene products, and even household cleansers. You will pay more money for unbleached diapers, but the price difference is worth it. In addition to being healthier, unbleached diapers are also fragrance-free. New moms often still have the heightened sense of smell that occurs during pregnancy, and unbleached diapers don't contain any potentially nauseating chemical fragrances.

Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and natural foods stores usually carry at least one brand of unbleached diapers. High-end grocery stores also usually carry a full line of eco-friendly products including unbleached diapers. If you can't find Seventh Generation products locally, you can order them online at stores such as Amazon.com. Unbleached diapers will look similar in appearance to unbleached paper towels used in public restrooms. They are a light natural brown shade and have no chemical odor.

If you've never tried unbleached diapers, you should definitely give them a try. They are a great compromise for individuals who want safer options but don't want to deal with the additional work involved with maintaining cloth diapers. I tried cloth diapers, but because my daughter was topping the charts in height and weight, all the cloth diapers I tried were too cumbersome and restricted movement too much especially when she was learning to walk. Unbleached diapers provided the perfect alternative to our dilemma. They were just as light as popular mainstream disposable diapers but provided us with the benefit of being chlorine free. I wish I had discovered them sooner than I did, and I know I'll definitely be using my favorite unbleached diapers, Seventh Generation, if I have another baby.

Published by S.V.

Sharon has been a freelance writer and editor for the past three years.  View profile

10 Comments

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  • mee-ah8/1/2009

    7th generation always has great products, but gdiapers are the only biodegradable disposables...

  • Summer Banks5/25/2007

    Fortunately my child rearing and diapering years are almost over. Thanks for the great information.

  • Sarah LaReau5/12/2007

    Thanks for this! I love tips on anything alternative and "green".

  • Lucy John4/25/2007

    I've used Seventh Gen diapers now and again. They are pretty great!

  • Jeanne Marie Kerns4/19/2007

    Great write !!

  • Katherine M.4/15/2007

    Great review. We use cloth but the unbleached diapers are definitely better for baby and our environment than mainstream disposables. my Whole Foods sells the Seventh Generation dipes.

  • Jennifer4/14/2007

    Great review. I also didn't even know that these were available.

  • Sharon Van Gaskin4/13/2007

    Amy-I honestly don't know, but obviously cloth diapers are a better environmental choice. I did want to use cloth, but I just couldn't find any that weren't unnecessarily bulky and restrictive. Unbleached diapers (once I discovered them) at least provided the same ease of use as disposables minus the unneeded bleach and dioxins.

  • Amy Weekley4/12/2007

    I've heard of these. Good article. One question: how long does it take them to biodegrade? The reason I switched to cloth is that disposables can take up to 500 years to decompose in a landfill. Are the unbleached diapers faster at decomposing?

  • Amanda Cartwright4/12/2007

    I didn't even know these were available. Good review!

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