What's in a disposable diaper....

MomToMany wrote: Children's Health Environmental Coalition

The Health Issues

What's Wrong With Disposables

Environmental Concerns

Environmental Concerns II

Plus:

Disposables Ingredients

Here is a list of what goes into making the typical disposable.
Most disposable diapers are made with these components.
Some materials may or may not be present in your brand.

1) Polyethylene Film: This is used as back-sheet, and it
helps to stop the liquids from leaking out of the diaper.
The back-sheet can also be made to look as a cloth
back-sheet by adding a polypropylene non-woven to
the film using hot melts.

2) Tissue: This is used to help the manufacturing process,
as a carrier for the pad. It comes from the Kraft paper process.

3) Hot Melts: They are used to glue the different components
of the diaper, such as the pad and the elastics.
They are made of a mixture of resins, oils and tackifiers.

4) Hydrophobic Non-woven: It is used as a top sheet for the
leg cuffs, it will not allow water to pass trough. It is made of
polypropylene without any treatment.

5) Hydrophilic Non-woven: It is the main top sheet in contact
with the baby skin, it allows the liquids to flow into the diaper core.
The difference between the two non-wovens is the
surfactant treatment used in the process.

6) Elastics: Used to improve the fit of the diaper, usually made
of polyurethane foam, rubber or lycras. They are used in the
waist and also for the legs.

7) Lateral Tapes: These are used to hold the diaper in place
once it is on the baby, they are made of polypropylene and
hot melt. They can also be made of cloth-like material based
also on polypropylene.

8) Frontal Tape: It is used to allow for multiple repositions
of the lateral tape without tearing the back-sheet, it is made
of polypropylene film and attached to the front of the diaper
with adhesive. Its use has helped to reduce the thickness of
the poly film without the risk of potential tears associated
with the lateral tapes.

9) Cellulose: Used for the construction of the pad, it gives
integrity and absorbing capacity to the diaper. It comes from
pine trees. Liquids are absorbed due to the capillaries in the
void spaces between the fibers, and the surface tension angle
between the fiber and the water.


WOW, who would've thought all that to make a diaper???

Maddie&EthansMom replied: WOW! Thanks for the info!!

iluvmysweetiepies replied: wow! we used cloth with our oldest 2 and i loved it, but i don't think i'll have enough time to deal with that with the twins

texasp3 replied:
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.... and poop still squirts up the back.

texasp3 replied: Actually, on a more serious note, I like Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Diapers. When I was in Portland, OR recently, it was easy to find these, as well as organic formula. I'm shocked that even my good natural foods stores in the Dallas area do NOT have organic infant formula for sale ~ only toddler formula which I think is unecessary to begin with.

loveydad replied: well that makes me feel like crud.

MomToMany replied: I just wanted to open people's eyes to the problem with "disposables". It takes hundreds ofYEARS for 1 diaper to decompose. With the sheer volume of "disposables" being thrown away, that is a SERIOUS problem.

A cloth diaper, after years of service through multiple children, will decompose in about 6 MONTHS, and not leak any toxic chemicals into the groundwater.

READ THIS TO LEARN MORE

MomToMany replied: I didn't post this to make anyone feel bad, and I apologize if I did. Most people have no clue what goes into making disposables. I just wanted to share the info I have found on this.

gr33n3y3z replied: that is so gross
no wonder ppl. use cloth diapers more so these days

MomToMany replied:
Yeah it's gross! Who would want that next to their baby's skin 24/7?

gr33n3y3z replied: Someone told me that some of the things in the diapers are also in tampons
now that is scary

MomToMany replied:
Yep.

TBT

TBT

More dangers

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I wanted to use cloth, but can you believe there is NO diaper service in this area!! That is the only way Scotty would let me do cloth.

MomToMany replied:
That's awful Aimee! There should be some everywhere! They are so easy to wash, easier than regular laundry!

Also, there is cloth pads and alternatives to tampons for women. I've never liked tampons, so I have cloth pads. I've only got to use them once so far, and worked great! Another reason I want AF to show up, LOL!

Diva Cup

Cloth pads for Mom

I have the MOE Comfort Pads. They are great!

moped replied: WEll yes that is brutal - however, I personally do not have time to deal with cloth diapers working full time etc........................but good to know

loveydad replied:
i realize you didn't! Of course not!

It makes me feel really really really bad though, and very guilty. In fact, we tried to put Peter in disposibles , well Hen did, and we couldn't do it. I would use them if I had the time, the service was offered here, and I didn't have the problem of having all these kiddos in my house. It's easier.

Not all diapers are created equal. They make natural diapers .. made specially or something and recycled. I'll be looking into those.