Good for your baby Disposable diapers contain harmful chemicals. These chemicals can irritate baby’s skin, causing diaper rash. Dioxin, a by-product of bleaching, is listed by the EPA as the most toxic carcinogen. Disposables also contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) which is a chemical known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals. Good for the environment Disposable diapers generate sixty times more solid waste and use twenty times more raw materials to make than cloth diapers do. Yikes. Additionally, it’s estimated to take between 250 and 500 years for a single disposable diaper to break down in a landfill. Whereas cloth are used over and over before heading to the landfill, and they they take about 5 months to break down. You may even be able to compost old cloth diapers as long as they’re made from natural fiber such as cotton or wool. Good for you They’re cheaper! Cloth diapers cost more upfront but save you considerably in the long run. Disposables are more convenient sometimes but cloth is much more convenient at other times. For instance, you never have to run out to the store in bad weather or in the middle of the night to buy more!