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Have you heard of gDiapers? They're the touchy-feely, save the earth one diaper at a time kind of diaper, the one that makes even Seventh Generation look like schmucks. Being new to this whole mommy thing I'd never seen gDiapers until last week. Frankly, until I had a kid I didn't even realize diapers came in different sizes. Proves just how very little I knew about parenting before I became one.
So these gDiapers. The deal with them is that they are allegedly more environmentally sound than the regular (non-cloth) disposable diapers. Apparently regular diapers don't biodegrade for 500 years. 500 years. 500. Yes, 5-0-0. Makes using cloth diapers seem better every day. But, that's not what this post is about. I don't want to (yet) discuss the many virtues and otherwise of cloth diapers. The tale I am here to tell now is that of the gDiapers.
The gDiapers go down the toilet, at least part of them does, not into a landfill. The website offered other interesting facts including that once flushed the contents of the g diaper could be used for fertilizers, etc., so by using them one is not only saving resources(such as trees) and avoiding landfills but one is also giving something back to Mother Earth.
This concept seemed simple enough at first. Then I was informed of all the steps involved.
I was standing in line at the Park Slope Food Coop where I naturally work as well as shop (it's the oldest continually operating coop in the country) when I noticed these new diapers. Well, they were new to me anyway. I said to my husband, oh look at these. I wonder what the deal is with these gDiapers.
The woman directly behind me, with whom I'd previously had a conversation about our adorable infant children, piped right up on how absolutely fantabulous and amazing and wonderful these diapers are, and how easy the whole process for disposing of them was.
After hearing her go on and on about it and checking the website I am more confused than ever. From what I gather there are inserts that go into the cloth outer diaper. These inserts are what gets flushed down the toilet. So, it's sort of like having a cloth diaper only taking the process one step further.
That extra step is removing the soiled insert, hauling it to the bathroom, dislodging all the mucky muck from the insert, then tearing it up with a stick (or something) while it's floating in the john, then flushing the whole thing.
Ok, so it's a little extra work. No problem there, I guess, in theory anyway, as it would be an extra five minutes (according to the woman in line) for the environment. She had an older child too and seemed convincing.
She almost had me convinced to switch from my chlorine-free Seventh Generation size ones until I realized something pretty important. The stark reality is that I don't use cloth diapers because they take too much time to put on and off. I am sure that once I got the hang of it they wouldn't take much more time than changing a disposable, but the truth is that I don't know that I have that kind of time, at least not right now.
When I think about the number of diapers I change every day and how long that takes it baffles me how I get anything else done. When I think about how long it would take me to go through the g diaper process, and how many times a day I'd go through that process, I don't think I would get ANYTHING else accomplished other than changing diapers!
At least this is how it seems in my mind.
My husband also pointed out that you have to flush away the diaper every time or have a stinky toilet. And each time a toilet is flushed it uses ten gallons of water. Yes. Ten. At least around here it does. I thought it was three, which is still too many gallons, but apparently it's ten. So if I flush ten diapers a day that is 100 gallons a day of water I am flushing. That just doesn't seem very environmentally sound to me.
Of course one could argue that I change the baby every time I go to the bathroom anyway and double up on water usage. In a perfect world that would work. The truth is baby and I are hardly on the same schedule.
Anyway, I could go on and on about this all day. I decided while in line at the Coop to just get the Seventh Generation diapers and read about the gDiapers on their website, watch the video, read the FAQs, you know. I also thought I'd ask you guys about the gDiapers, since my guess is at least some of you have taken the plunge and given them a try.
If so do tell! I would love to know how your experience went and whether or not you recommend them.
Let me also add that I do have some cloth diapers that my mom gave me for emergencies. I am tempted to use them around the house when baby and I are staying in to cut down on my waste. While I know I cannot commit to completely giving up disposables, I do use the Seventh Generation brand which we all quite like, and will try to use cloth diapers more frequently.












ReaderComments (Page 2 of 2)
6-14-2007 @ 8:14AM
Andrea said...Cloth diapers have definitely gotten easier to deal with! We use bumgenius, a one-size, pocket diaper. We bought 30 diapers ($600) and since we use washcloths for wipes and don't need diaper cream with the fleece diapers, our total expenditure so far is $600! PLUS, these diapers can be reused if we have more children, passed on to others if we don't, and over the course of the lives of two children, keep nearly 10,000 diapers out of landfill.
There's literally tons of varieties of cotton diapers out there on the net. Definitely worth checking out if you have access to a washer and a dryer (or clothesline to be even more eco-conscious)!
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6-14-2007 @ 9:35AM
Kerrie said...gDiaper user over here! I have to admit that we had a hard time with them for a while -- I had many interactions with their customer service staff, but it seemed that my especially long and lean baby just wasn't filling them in enough to stop all the leaks. I would recommend waiting until your baby is ready for the medium size pants (I think around 13 pounds) and generally not to bother if you don't have a washer/dryer at home, sincethe pants will need to be washed fairly regularly (just don't put the plastic liners in the dryer, which will ruin the elasticity and generate more leaks). Yeah, the gDiapers are more of a pain in the butt than disposables, and just about as expensive (esp. in NYC -- I understand the prices; I live in Fort Greene), but those little g pants are too darn cute. No everyday need for shorts in the summer! Also, if you decide to go cloth later, you can use them inside the g pants. Good luck!
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6-14-2007 @ 9:35PM
Sharon said...Thank you so much for asking about these! I've been debating getting them, but didn't know anyone who'd actually used them.
Anji - Do you know if Nature nappies are going to be available in the states?
I've been using Seventh Gen and like them alot. Never had any leaks or problems. We tried cloth for a while (Kushies) but just couldn't seem to figure out how to handle the cleaning. Soaking them in a bucket of vinegar water, dumping the bucket (which my hubby had to do because it was so heavy) and not being able to get the stains out because you couldn't use bleach (directions said it would damage the absorbency). I gave them to a friend & she loves them.
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6-15-2007 @ 10:33PM
the SmockLady said...OK, the IDEA behind gDiapers is good (I guess), but it's just too much work. and I use cloth!
And cloth diapering does not have to take any longer than disposable diapering to put on and off.
Check these out:
http://verybaby.com - awesome!
http://cottonbabies.com - my favorites! soft, neat, trim! they wash up great and easy!
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6-16-2007 @ 4:30AM
Anji said...Sharon - I'm not sure but I'm pretty sure they're available online. I buy them from Mothercare, not sure if they ship internationally.
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6-18-2007 @ 11:17AM
mgd said...This is the first time I have ever responded to a posting of any kind but felt compelled to do so because I just tried out gdiapers this weekend and relied on comments that I read on the internet in making my decision. I have to admit though, that my reasons for doing so are not as admirable as most visitors to this site. I bought them because I thought they were so cute! I am on my 3rd child and have alaways used disposables (not environmentallly friendly ones either) without a second thought. We live in a large metropolitan city where it is not unusual to commute more than 1 hour each direction every day just to get to work and we definitely have a pollution problem here! I also have 2 kids that take asthma and allergy medications daily and started thinking that might not be so if we took better care of our environment. That's when I started thinking about cloth diapers and found gdiapers. Our experience with gdiapers this weekend has been just fine. I did plenty of reading though trying to find out what people did wrong (or right) when using them, read the website, watch the video, etc. I think the key is definitely in the fit. My daughter is 20 lbs and we ordered the medium. They looked small but once they are on the fit nice, trim and snug. The pad seems to be pretty absorbant and I haven't had a leak problem in the 2 days we've used them. i also don't have a problem handling a wet diaper and getting my hands dirty so I don't mind the whole flush thing. I think you have to be quite methodical and deliberate when you are tearing these things apart though -- slowly down one side, slowly down the other, across the top, drop in the stuffing, swish, flush, drop the lining. I do see how it is a trial and error process but so far we haven't had a problem (with the exception of needing a second flush every once in a while.) The poop was a bit of a problem and I was not real excited about that. We had to change the plastic liner but the cover stayed clean. It would have gotten messy had we not changed her right away. Flushing it was a bit icky and then I had to rinse the liner in the sink. Which of course meant I had to clean the sink too! I might be easier to throw the poopy liners in the trash or if your baby is regular, put on a cloth or disposable for the once a day predictable poop. Right now I am trying to find a hemp liner to try out. However, I am not sure how the whole cloth thing will go over wiith my husband since he is the one who stays home with our 3 children! We are certainly not saving any money with the gdiaper disposable but its kinda nice just watching the diaper flush away instead of pile of in the diaper champ. That was a lot but I thought it might be helpful to someone. I do agree they are way too cute to cover up and you can just throw a t-shirt or dress on baby and they are good to go! We will most likely be a household using a combo of disposable (although I think I will begin buying 7th generation), gdiaper flushables, and gdiapers with cloth inserts. I am not sure this is the most efficient way to do anything but at least we will be keeping some of those disposables out of the landfills. As for the water consumption used in flushing,
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6-17-2007 @ 11:34PM
Ahmie said...Please also notice that the inserts are compostable when it's just a wet diaper, you don't HAVE to flush them or throw them away... if you have the ability to compost them that is (we live in a suburb). I'm due with baby #2 in a few weeks and we received gDiapers as a gift. We plan to do elimination communication with the baby as well so I'm hoping the cost will even out with what we spent on using disposables on our firstborn over the long term.
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6-19-2007 @ 2:22PM
Jason Graham-Nye said...Dear all,
My name is Jason Graham-Nye and alonq with my wife Kimberley, we founded gDiapers 2 years ago. I just wanted to say that like all of you we are parents and as parents we faced the same cloth vs disposable challenge when we had our first son 4 years ago.
Kim stumbled upon the flushable diaper at a baby expo in Sydney, Australia where we are from. We used them for 6 or so months and just loved the fact that you could flush them away. The house no longer smelt like a dirty diaper! We know that for some flushing takes getting used to so it is important to know that it is also just fine to toss them. The insert contains no plastic so they are much friendlier on the planet.
So for the 21 commentators above mine, if you have any questions please give us a call. Kim is best placed to answer product questions and her cell is 971 235 0628. For any other gQuestions, I am on 971 235 0359. We can talk diapers 'til the cows come home!
Cheers
Jason & Kimberley Graham-Nye
Founders
gDiapers
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6-19-2007 @ 8:09PM
Bridget said...Soooo, I've been a bit of a lurker until now--I just had to chime in on the gDiapers. I have used them with my little one since birth (even in the hospital when my husband changed him!) My son is 11 months old now and we are still going strong. I would say the number one reason to use them is the impact on the environment. I actually just toss them and like someone said they compost in a landfill in 53 days NOT 500 YEARS! Also, the customer service and the company is unheard of. They are a really small company and very family friendly. You don't have to push a million buttons to talk to the person you want. Important time saver!
Admittedly, they do take a little time to get used to but then I don't know that many things that didn't take some time to learn (how long did the pack and play take to assemble?!) I felt very comfortable after a couple of weeks of using them.
Personally, I think they are dang cute! I've heard they are coming out with more colors too!
Anyway, I will go back to my lurking self. Love the blog!!
Bridget
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7-30-2007 @ 7:58PM
Dr.MOZ said...Hi Jennifer,
It looks like Parent Dish and urbanMamas both beat us to the gDiaper topic:
http://www.deardrmoz.com
We had to give you a TrackBack because you have a great collection of comments brewing on the subject. Keep up the great blogging!
Best,
Dr.MOZ
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8-13-2007 @ 6:15PM
Tabby said...Hi! I'm a reformed disposible user who switched to gDiapers about 6 months ago for my little 1 year old guy. At first I did the COMPLETE switch and used only the g's but, they didn't fair too well at night for him so he uses a disposible at nights. I love the g's. My hubby isn't too crazy abou them since he thinks it's a pain to "prepare" the diaper (now I have them "pre-made" to get him to help me). But, I love them. They look so good on him and I like not feeling bad anymore. I don't flush them since we have old septic lines and system so I just throw them out instead. They aren't hard to get on since they are velcro. Not to mention they also "re-vamped" them and they are even EASIER to get on than before. I suggest you order a starter kit to try it out and if you don't like them you can sell them on the Yahoo Gdiaper group and get your money back! It's worth a try! Oh, according to my calculations they only cost 15.00 more a month than buying Huggies Supremes!! They are even cheaper if you use a microfiber and fleece insert!!
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9-04-2007 @ 8:42PM
kelly said...gDiapers user here. They are fabulous. It took us about a day to get the hang of them. There are several great tips on the http://www.gdiapers.com website such as stuffing a few inserts in while your baby is hangin out on the changing table after being changed. This way you simply grab a little g and put it on. Really no more time than a disposable. We usually just throw away the inserts unless their especially stinky then we flush. Once we switched to gDiapers (around 2weeks old) from disposables our son's diaper rash completely went away. They are easy on the environment and easy for parents too! We have 6 outer cloth pants and I only have to do laundry every 3-4 days, which I think is typical with a baby anyway. The g pants wash well and I love not having to touch any poop or worry about laundering the poopy cloth diapers. They may be more costly than cloth but not much and even though I choose not to you can put cloth diapers in the gpants too. Some of my firends do this at home and use the flushable inserts when their out. I wait until the inserts go on sale and buy in bulk.
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