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At 40 years old, I am officially decrepit enough to begin my sentences with “back in the day” and get away with it. With nearly a half-century of life under my belt, I was born in a time without the personal computer, CD player, cable television, or cell phones. Although I am now an avid user of all of the above, I am not sure how much our gigantic leap into technology has benefited us as a culture. Back in the day (well, the days of 1968), there was no such thing as organic baby food, car seats, or eco-friendly toys—and the disposable diaper was a fairly new phenomenon. Our moms raised us the way their moms raised them, and that was that.

Back when we were growing up, parents just shopped. Now, for better or worse, we are conscious consumers. Whether we are shopping for bargains, or with an eye toward reducing our carbon footprint, we are acutely aware of the fact that our choices affect our budget and the environment. When you bring a brand new human into the world, you have created not just a cute, adorable baby, but a brand new consumer who will, according to National Geographic, consume 3,800 diapers, 5,000 newspapers, and 31,000 gallons of gas over a lifetime. It’s hard to believe, but my tiny daughter is already starting to chip in her 4.6 pounds of garbage per day (the U.S. per capita average), 55 percent of which ends up in a landfill somewhere.

Although my wife and I might not necessarily be ready to make the switch from disposable diapers to cloth, there are quite a few things that we can do to get baby Mia off on the right track—and many choices we can make that will have a positive impact on her health and well-being.

Eating Well
Like me, my baby lives to eat. Like any parents, my wife and I pay close attention to our baby’s food, making sure she enjoys a well-balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and proteins—and, hopefully, letting her have fun with exciting new taste experiences. Just as every meal is an opportunity for adventure, there are also areas of concern. One of these is food-borne pesticide exposure—especially dangerous for babies, with rapidly developing brains and a low tolerance for chemicals. Feeding your baby exclusively organically is the only way to avoid the chemical additives and possible pesticide contamination of your baby’s food. Whether you buy jarred baby food, such as Gerber Organics or Earth’s Best; purchase fresh-frozen foods from Happy Baby or another provider; or steam and grind your own organic fruits and vegetables, feeding your baby organically is a great call. (“Tasting Notes,” explores some different organic choices you can make.)

Better Bottles
If you are exclusively bottle-feeding your baby, or supplementing breastfeeding with the occasional bottle, you have probably heard the concerns about bottles made from polycarbonate, the clear, rigid plastic used in many popular bottles. Consumer Reports tested six popular brands of bottles, and discovered that, when heated, all of them leaked trace amounts of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) into the formula. The chemical has been shown to produce psychological effects in laboratory animals similar to the effect that raising estrogen levels has. Scientists have now linked very low doses of BPA exposure to cancers, impaired immune function, early onset of puberty, obesity, diabetes, and hyperactivity, among other problems. In short, scientists are saying that we have been putting toxic chemicals directly into our children simply by feeding them from the wrong type of plastic bottles. This is extremely scary stuff. Parents are advised to immediately switch to BPA-free plastic bottles such as the Born Free brand, or go with old-school glass bottles by companies such as Evenflo.

Diaper Do’s
Let’s face it: Diapers are the most environmentally devastating aspect of child rearing. Although there is some debate about which method is more hazardous (the landfill waste created by disposables, or the carbon and chemical impact of washing cloth diapers), one thing is certain: diapers are simply not enviro-friendly. If you are like me—unwilling to switch to cloth diapers but concerned about the waste of disposable diapers—you may want to look into chlorine-free diapers.

According to Martin H. Wolf, director of product & environmental technology at Seventh Generation, the leading producer of chlorine-free diapers, “The fluff pulp (wood fiber) in the absorbent core is, by weight, the largest component of a disposable diaper. Conventional diapers contain fluff pulp that has been whitened using chlorine-containing bleach. Bleaching with chlorine produces many chlorinated by-products, including dioxin, a chemical that has been associated with a wide range of adverse health effects in laboratory animals and humans. We believe it is imperative to use safer methods of whitening and choose to whiten our fluff pulp with oxygen bleaches.” In other words, if you are going for disposable diapers, go chlorine-free.

Another way to minimize the environmental impact of all those diaper changes is to purchase chlorine-free baby wipes and—as important—make sure you buy the refills in bulk, instead of purchasing another hard plastic wipes dispenser, as using a refill package instead of a new dispenser uses 90 percent less packaging.

Your article provides readers with many great tips; however, I think you missed a great opportunity by not offering a mention about where to get cloth diapers, or that many LI moms are using them with great results. They are far from the cloth diapers of our parents' generation. I'm sorry that you and your wife aren't ready for them, but I would encourage you to take a "risk", or at least offer the infomation to others who may be ready--isn't that what you are asking of readers? To try something new for the sake of our environment?

Amy Jo, Friday, June 06, 2008 at 06:03 PM

Amy Jo,

That's just not in cards for me personally--and I think the jury may be out on cloth still. My sources tell me a LOT of chlorine and traditional cleaners are needed to get those diapers clean...and LOTS of hot water. Whether or not the wate abnd energy that cleaning cloth diapers creates is better than the damage a disposable does by sitting in a landfill isn't clear.

If you want to use them, that's a great personal choice, and I salute you for it!

Chris

Chris, Friday, June 06, 2008 at 08:59 PM

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