Do diapers matter? - Letters

Sierra, May-June, 2003 by Becky O'Brien

Please publish the citations for the studies that led you to say that it makes no difference whether people use cloth or disposable diapers ("Now, for the Good News ...," page 44, January/February). I find that virtually impossible to believe.

Becky O'Brien
Lafayette, Colorado

Editor's reply: Our source was The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices, a book produced by a group noted for its sound technical information, the Union of Concerned Scientists. A passel of impassioned letters have convinced us that parents might want to dig further, however. Readers pointed out that an article in the March 22, 2001, Ecologist came down firmly on the side of cloth. The British magazine cited a 1991 study by the Women's Environmental Network (www.wen.org.uk) that found cloth diapers use 3.5 times less total energy, 8 times less non-regenerable material, and 90 times less renewable material, and produce 2.3 times less wastewater than disposables. For a good summary of the controversy, see "The Politics of Diapers" in Mothering magazine's January/February 2003 issue.