g diapers

I found out about the gDiapers over a year ago. They are advertised as flushable diapers with outer covers you just throw in the washer. I tried to find them at our local stores like Whole Foods and Vitamin Cottage, but they weren't carrying them yet. I didn't want to have to pay shipping every time I ordered diapers, so I gave up on the idea.

One year later, and one new infant later, they are now in stock locally. You can buy a kit of two diaper covers, 4 snap-in liners and 10 diapers for about $24-27. After the initial purchase, the cost is ~14.99 for 40 diapers, or ~$.37 per diaper. The cost is comparable to the higher line pull-ups like Huggies, which are generally $.31-.41, depending on the diaper size, size of the box you are purchasing, and where they are purchased.

Flushability: You might wonder, "really, they flush?" Here's how it works: You have to take the diaper material (which really looks like a giant maxi-pad) out of the inner liner (polyurethane coated nylon) that snaps into the diaper cover, then rip open both sides the outer material (which resembles the inside of a regular diaper) and dump the inner material into the toilet. The inner material is like toilet tissue and it does clump, so it's necessary to swirl it around to break it up. According to the directions, you can flush the outer meshy material as well, but the one time I tried, it clogged the toilet.

But never fear, even if you can't flush the diapers they are highly biodegradable and great for composting (wet only diapers). In our house, we flush the inside and toss out the outside of the diapers. In comparison to regular diapers, we're adding about 1/20th the volume of a regular diaper (it is really just a thin outer meshy covering to hold the other material in) to a landfill.

Pros: *This diaper is great for reducing garbage and landfill. As a mom of 4 (all of which are in some type of diaper from night time pants to all day diapers) this is really important to me. I shudder at the realization that my first two children used about 10,000 diapers each and it took me this long to cloth diaper and use the gDiapers.

*The diaper covers really are cute! However, I put them on backwards for quite some time (the g on the diaper goes in the BACK!) and they still worked well.

*The diaper covers can be used for cloth diapering as well. I snap in the liner and add a prefold where the gDiaper would typically go. When I'm out and about, I use the regular gDiaper liners.

*You can be as cool as Julia Roberts


Cons: *Throwing them in a diaper bag is tricky. I feel like I need to put them in a separate sanitary bag so the stuff rolling around the diaper bag doesn't get on the diaper liners.

*Price. Let's face it, if you watch for sales and clip coupons, they cost about twice as much as regular disposable diapers. As a mom on a budget, it's a pretty big con.

*Dumping poopy diapers. It's really just as messy as cloth diapers, which cost a ton less and don't tax the waste reclamation any more than sitting on the potty and flushing (unlike gdiapers, which increase the amount of paper product in the septic system). With a bm, you really do get messy tearing off the outside of the diaper to dump the inner contents and if you don't feel comfortable flushing the outside, it can get really messy.

*Finding the diapers. I'm fortunate that I live in a state that has a big population of earthy crunchy mammas and even then, the stores don't have a huge stock. If you have to order online, you have to factor in the shipping cost, which can add a couple cents per diaper.


Cost: Starter Kit (2 diaper covers, 4 liners and 10 diaper inserts) ~$24-27
Refills (40 diaper inserts) ~$15

Rating (out of 4):

Comments: They can be costly, but such a benefit to the environment! A great alternative for outings, especially for cloth diapering moms.