Tag Archives: Cloth Diapers

Hemp vs Bamboo Rayon for Cloth Diapers

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bamboo plants

We get a lot of questions from customers in the bynature.ca store asking why they would want to choose bamboo vs. hemp for cloth diapers. Short answer: choose hemp for environment or absorbency, and choose bamboo rayon for softness.

Overall, we prefer hemp. In our completely unscientific survey of Facebook followers,
parents choose hemp 8 to 3. But, parents who love bamboo rayon diapers really love them. That’s fine, of course! Use what you love.

What’s the difference between bamboo and hemp?

Bamboo and hemp are both woody plants that grow easily without the kind of chemical inputs (pesticides, fungicides) and the heavy watering needed by cotton. On a microscope level, each little hemp fiber even looks a bit like a bamboo stalk with smooth areas between knobby spots. So far so good.

For parents who have used both fibers in diapers, you will notice the difference in feel (bamboo is very soft while hemp is more stiff) and function (bamboo is absorbent but not nearly as absorbent as super soaker hemp).

For parents looking to lower their environmental impact, the biggest differences between bamboo and hemp are in the processing of fibers used in cloth diapers. Bamboo is broken down into pulp, chemically processed and aged, then extruded as a rayon fiber. This is a long (often years long) process that involves a lot of chemicals. Bamboo rayon is a synthetic fiber from natural inputs. Hemp is mechanically processed, aided by natural enzymes and chemicals. The hemp fibers spun into yarn are the natural fibers from the plant. Most of the story of impact is in the process, and there are certainly manufacturers working to lower the impact of processing for both fibers. What you have available to you right now is a high-impact rayon that is currently very popular and marketed as eco-friendly and a lower-impact hemp that is perhaps not as popular as it has been in the past decade and not marketed as heavily.

How rayon fibers are made from bamboo

Rayon made from bamboo. To make the bamboo rayon fibers used in diapers, the soft parts of the bamboo plant are crushed into pulp. Wood pulp and pulp made from other cellulose fibers can also be used to create rayon (or viscose, as regular rayon is called). The pulp is then dissolved, dried, sent through several phases of aging and ripening, cooking and burning before being extruded into long fibers. Think of extrusion as forcing pasta dough through a spaghetti press. Chemicals are used in many of these steps to create a material that can be extruded and hold together as a fiber. A lot of the negative publicity about bamboo focuses on these chemical processes. After extrusion, the fibers are bathed in sulfuric acid, stretched, and washed. Then, you have rayon filaments that can be knit or woven into a fabric.

Bamboo can be processed in a closed loop, so the solvents are captured rather than waste. Because of the popularity of fabrics made from bamboo, there are a lot of companies working to develop more eco-friendly processes. There are also efforts to add nano-particles of charcoal to make the fiber antibacterial.

For now, any fiber made from bamboo cellulose but be labelled “rayon” or “rayon made from bamboo” in order to comply with U.S. Federal Trade Commission guidelines. (“Have You Been Bamboozled?” FTC, January 4, 2013.)

Linen made from bamboo. There is also a form of bamboo processing that is closer to that of hemp. The woody part of the plant is crushed, and an enzyme is used in the retting process, breaking down the rough outer layers to get to the softer inner layers. Those softer, inner fibers can then be spun into yarn. Unless your diapers are labelled “linen made from bamboo,” they are made from “rayon made from bamboo” (and we don’t know of any cloth diapers made from bamboo linen).

Source of bamboo. It’s great that bamboo can grow easily in some places where other plants can’t. The environmental and social problems happen when the demand for bamboo rayon is so high that forests are cut down to plant bamboo, people are pushed off their land for bamboo, or bamboo is grown in monoculture. What CAN be done in bamboo cultivation isn’t necessarily what IS done, so we need to look at the provenance of our fibers. Most bamboo is used in fabric production is grown by one massive company in China, which grows the fibers to Oeko-Tex 100 standards, but many manufacturers of textiles made with bamboo rayon claim to process their own fibers outside of that system. It matters where and how bamboo is processed, so ask your cloth diaper manufacturer. If they don’t know about the process used, they should be able to follow the chain to their suppliers and find out.

Antibacterial? The U.S. FTC says bamboo rayon fabric does not have antibacterial qualities as often marketed, while many manufacturers continue to claim antibacterial properties and testing that proves it. The legal battles are still underway, so it’s fair to be skeptical of both claims for now.

How hemp fibers are made

The process of making usable yarn from hemp is similar to that of making linen from bamboo. The stem of the hemp plant is wound with heavy fibers. An enzyme is used in retting, and the softer (though not necessarily soft) fibers are spun into yarn. The softness of hemp depends on the point in the season or growing process when the hemp is harvested. Those who work with hemp often can tell the difference between the softer, early season hemp and the stiffer, late season hemp.

Hemp is generally mixed with other fibers. The hemp most often used for cloth diapers is 45% hemp / 55% cotton, taking on the absorbency of hemp and the softness of cotton. To use 100% hemp in a diaper would give a stiffer feel like linen, though it is possible to made a very soft hemp linen by using only the finest fibers.

Quick Comparison of Bamboo and Hemp for Cloth Diapers

Bamboo
PRO

  • soft to the touch in the product,
  • renewable fiber,
  • lower impact than petroleum-based fibers,
  • easy to grow in the field,
  • can be made in a closed system to reduce environmental impact

CON

  • often greenwashed in deceptive or uninformed marketing,
  • chemically processed to create rayon,
  • environmental injustices in meeting the recent demand,
  • more sensitive fiber than cotton or hemp to detergent chemicals and drying heat of cloth diaper laundry,
  • many manufacturers recommend line drying to avoid dryer heat,
  • can be damaged by some basic laundry detergent ingredients (like baking soda)

Hemp
PRO

  • very absorbent in the product,
  • renewable fiber,
  • lower impact than petroleum-based fibers and other plant-based fibers (cotton and bamboo),
  • easy to grow in the field

CON

  • stiffer to the touch than bamboo rayon or cotton,
  • so absorbent that it can retain stink in diapers if not rinsed properly,
  • needs more water in laundry process,
  • can be difficult to maintain in HE (high efficiency) washer

Why Choose Bamboo vs. Hemp?

In the end, whether you choose bamboo rayon or hemp for cloth diapers depends on your priorities.

  • If you are looking for a soft diaper, choose bamboo rayon. It is super soft and silky to the touch.
  • If you are looking for lower environmental impact, choose hemp. It is easy to grow in the field. Although there is usually a chemical process to soften the fibers for spinning (though hemp can be mechanically processed), this is a much less problematic process than that of breaking down bamboo.
  • If your laundry detergent includes baking soda, choose hemp (or change detergents). Baking soda will damage bamboo diapers, beginning the process of breaking down the cellulose.
  • If you are looking for an absorbent diaper, choose hemp. Hemp is a super absorbent fiber.
  • If you are trying to give your baby a stay-dry feeling without petroleum products, choose hemp. Because of its absorbency, the surface feels more dry than other fibers holding the same amount of liquid.
  • If you have an HE washing machine, choose bamboo rayon—or cotton. Hemp is so absorbent that it requires more water in washing and rinsing to keep it soft and clean. But, be careful with bamboo rayon in an HE washing machine, because it is important that it be rinsed well.
  • If your water is very hard, skip both hemp (because it can retain mineral build up) and bamboo rayon (because it is sensitive to the chemicals you need to use to wash in very hard water and can break down in the heat of the dryer if those chemicals aren’t rinsed well), and choose cotton.

We LOVE hemp in the bynature.ca store for many reasons, but we are always answering questions for customers about bamboo rayon—and why we don’t stock more of it. From an environmental standpoint, hemp has bamboo beat. In diapers, when it comes to absorbency and the natural stay-dry feeling, hemp also excels. The soft and silky feeling of bamboo is hard to resist though!

Image © Les Cunliffe | Dreamstime.com

Cotton Diapers – Do You Choose Organic or Not?

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Organic cotton prefold cloth diapers

We were surprised when we asked customers about organic cotton diapers because their reasons for choosing organic don’t always match what we know about the benefits of organic. We recommend organic over non-organic, but our reasons might not be what you expect.

We’re stepping back slightly from our laundry series this week in celebration of the Great Cloth Diaper Change coming up this weekend. There will be events around the world Saturday, April 20th at 11:00AM local time, when babies will have their cloth diapers changed for a Guinness World Records global event. If you haven’t registered yet for an event local to you, you might still be able to squeak in.

What makes it organic?
Organic isn’t just a matter of avoiding use of pesticides and other chemical inputs then calling a product organic. “Organic” is a label that is given following certification to detailed standards. Without the certification, a product can’t be labelled “organic” even if it is grown or processed exactly as certified products are. The certification doesn’t make the product clean; the process makes the product clean. But, the certification is your assurance about the process.

In the field. In the U.S., the Department of Agriculture runs the National Organic Program (NOP). For textile fibers, this program sets standards only up to harvest. Short of organic, there are other efforts to reduce the worst toxic pesticides, like the Sustainable Cotton Project’s Cleaner Cotton.

In processing. For post-harvest processing, you will often see a GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certification. A whole product can be certified organic by GOTS.

Fiber content. Globally, the Textile Exchange certifies the Organic Content Standard (used to be Organic Exchange [OE] Standard).

Looking for NOP, GOTS, or OE/OCS certifications is your assurance that products are certified to organic standards.

Is Organic Better for the Environment?
Absolutely. The most important reason to buy organic is the reduction of toxins, even known carcinogens, in the environment. It takes a lot of chemicals to grow conventional cotton. When it takes 1/3 lb of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers to produce one cotton T-shirt, you can begin to see how the impact of three dozen prefolds builds. To give you some idea of scale, every year 6.9 million pounds of chemicals are sprayed on conventional cotton in California alone. Organic food and fiber both avoid most of the agricultural and industrial chemicals of conventional food and fiber. Most. Is organic the only answer? Not at all. There are issues with some organic standards, but that shouldn’t keep you from looking for the cleanest solution to your needs. When you buy cotton diapers, whether certified organic as a whole product or just made with organic cotton, you reduce the chemical burden on the environment. You reduce the pollution of air, water, and soil that will get back around to you.

Is Organic Better for the Skin?
No. This is one of the reasons our customer claim for choosing organic, but no studies show that organic cotton is better for your skin or for your health than conventional cotton. Organically grown cotton is not inherently softer than conventional cotton, though the quality of organic cotton can sometimes be better as it grows without exposure to toxins. There are no pesticide residues in conventional cotton. Certainly, organic is better for your health in the global view, as it reduces environmental pollution, but that benefit is indirect. When either conventional cotton or organic cotton has been treated with other chemicals in the processing, that is another matter. When you are told that organic feels cleaner on your skin, though, you are hearing a marketing pitch not scientific fact.

Is Organic Expensive?
Sometimes. Organic food and fibers do cost more than conventional, but that is really only expensive if you are not counting the external costs of the toxin burden of conventional cotton. As long as the production is more expensive, the organic products you buy will be more expensive. But, organic isn’t that much more expensive when compared with equivalent products made with conventional cotton. When you look at a one-time expense like organic cotton prefolds, the difference in cost isn’t so great that it would keep most families from using organic. When cost of the initial investment in diapers is an issue, simple prefold diapers are the affordable option we recommend.

Is Organic Worth It?
Yes. Despite the fact that your baby isn’t exposed to pesticides through conventional cotton diapers and the sometimes higher price tag on organic diapers, it is worth it to choose organic because you reduce the overall toxic burden in our world. You reduce toxins in the field; for the workers; downstream in the air, water, and soil; for yourself; and for your baby.

As one follower wrote, organic “feels better. . . on my conscience.” For a lot of our customers, this is the key. We recommend organic cotton diapers primarily because it lowers the chemical burden on world—the whole, interconnected world that leads right back to us and our babies. We are concerned with the big picture, and we feel better about organic.

Do you want to read more about organic cotton?

Read the story of Patagonia’s switch to organic cotton over the past 20 years. It wasn’t easy, but it was the obvious choice for them once they understood the real impacts of conventional cotton. Their quest for better choices doesn’t end with organic cotton, though. They continue to push boundaries.

If you aren’t already convinced that it’s important to choose organic fabric, especially for your baby, read this article on getting rid of chemicals in fabrics from O Ecotextiles. When it comes to direct chemical exposure, the issue isn’t about organic in the field; it’s all about the processing.

 

Cloth Diaper Washing: Wet Pail or Dry Pail?

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Diaper Pail

Before you wash your cloth diapers, where will you store them? You can use a wet pail, which means leaving the diapers to soak in water, or a dry pail, which means not adding water.

Which will work better for your diapers? We will walk you through the pros and cons of your diaper pail choices.

The short answer: there isn’t a lot of difference in choosing wet or dry pail. Starting with a dry pail is simple, and many families don’t find the need to try a wet pail

Wet Pail
A wet diaper pail is a hard pail filled with water. The diapers soak in the water until you wash them. You can also add stain and odor eliminators.

Pros

  • Pre-soaking diapers means fewer stains
  • Less need for pre-rinse once diapers are in the washing machine

Cons

  • Some manufacturers recommend against using a wet pail for pocket diapers or PUL covers
  • Drowning risk for young children or pets
  • Heavier to carry to the washing machine (though it shouldn’t be too heavy to carry)
  • Top-loading machine is essential if you plan to pour the diaper pail into the washer.

Dry Pail
A dry diaper pail can be either a hard pail with a liner or a hanging pail (just the wet bag or liner). A dry pail isn’t exactly dry, since you fill it with wet diapers, but “dry” refers to not adding more water. You can also add stain and odor eliminators to a dry pail, though be careful not to let oils or treatments sit directly on diapers unless you know that is safe (as in the case of enzyme spray).

Pros

  • Lighter pail
  • Easier to transfer from pail to front-loading washing machine
  • No drowning hazard

Cons

  • More likely to get stains as mess sits on fabric for a day or more
  • Need diaper pail liner (though that’s not much of a con)
  • Tougher to control odor with a hanging dry pail

I used both. I put dirty diapers in a wet pail (which I stored in the bathtub, away from curious little hands), put wet diapers in a dry pail next to the changing table, and never put covers anywhere near the pail.

Which pail type you choose depends on the needs of your family. There isn’t an obvious choice for everyone, though a lot of families choose the dry pail for simplicity. Start simple with a dry pail, and move on to wet pail if you find that you have odor that is difficult to bear or control.

Tips

  • With both types of pails, your diapers are less likely to stain and your pail will be somewhat more fresh if you dump solids in the toilet before putting the diaper in the pail.
  • Any plastic bucket will work for a dry pail, though you may want to get one with a lid to control odors.
  • For a wet pail, either choose a locking pail or store pail out of reach of small children.
  • To avoid mildew, wash more frequently. Don’t leave diapers sitting for more than two days.
  • Be careful about anything you add to your diaper pail.

Cloth Diaper Detergent Additives to Avoid, Usually

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Cloth diaper detergent additives to avoid

What is in your laundry detergent? Even if you read the ingredients, you might not know what the ingredients are or what they do. Plus, if you are washing cloth diapers, you probably have in mind a list of additives to avoid because they void warranties.

In the spirit of asking WHY we should avoid every little thing rather than just giving you mysteriously vague rules to follow, we’re getting into the details of detergent additives today. We hope this will help you choose which detergent to use for cloth diapers and understand why you might even choose a separate detergent for the rest of your laundry.

The No-Nos

Brighteners

  • What it is: organic chemicals such as amino triazine, coumarin, and stilbene (that’s organic in the chemical sense not the agricultural sense)
  • What it does: gives the appearance of a whiter fabric. Think of these as little light reflectors that sit above the surface of the fabric fooling your eyes into thinking the real yellows of the fabric are more blue.
  • When to avoid it: always! You don’t want to use anything in your cloth diaper laundry that leaves a coating on the fabric.
  • When to use it: never an appropriate additive for use with cloth diapers and not necessary with your other laundry.

Dyes

  • What it is: chemical compounds
  • What it does: a very small amount of color fools your eye into not seeing the underlying color of your laundry.
  • When to avoid it: always! Can leave a coating or, in some cases, be an allergen or irritant.
  • When to use it: never an appropriate additive for use with cloth diapers an not necessary with your other laundry.

Fabric Softener

  • What it is: chemical compounds that act as cationic surfactants
  • What it does: positive charge aligns on the surface of the fabric to create a lubricating coating, which feels soft to the touch and prevents build up of static electricity.
  • When to avoid it: always! For cloth diapers, do not use detergents with added fabric softeners. Even more than most of the other additives listed here, this will leave a repelling coating on your diapers that prevents fabrics from working as intended.
  • When to use it: Never. You can soften your cloth diapers without chemical softeners.

Stain Guard

  • What it is: chemical compounds vary
  • What it does: coats the fabric surface to repel stains during wear. Works in a similar way to fabric softener.
  • When to avoid it: always! Avoid anything designed to leave a coating because it will cause leaking and repelling.
  • When to use it: Never. The key to avoiding or removing stains from diapers is in how you treat the diapers after a diaper change. Use enzymes, warm pre-rinse, or sunning for natural stain removal.

Fragrance

  • What it is: artificial fragrances are chemical compounds that mimic natural scents; natural fragrances are usually extracted oils
  • What it does: smells nice, sometimes masking an underlying unpleasant scent in laundry that isn’t quite clean
  • When to avoid it: avoid artificial fragrances always. Avoid them not just in your laundry but throughout your home. Many of these chemical compounds are known allergens, irritants, and toxins.
  • When to use it: if you want a nice smell in addition to clean, use essential oils, BUT even these oils can coat the fibers of your cloth diapers and cause residue build up. Essential oils can be removed (washed out) of fibers easily, but you might want to avoid them for laundry.

The Naturals

Natural Oils

  • What it is: might be listed as “natural extract” on a detergent ingredient list. Fats or oils in natural soap can come from many different plant and animal sources, such as olive oil, milk, or soy. Saponification, the process of making natural soap, is a chemical reaction between lye (caustic) and fats or oils. Most laundry detergents are derived from petro-chemicals (oil and gas, primarily), but there are natural laundry soaps. Notice the difference in the use of the words “detergent” and “soap.”
  • What it does: could be a component of natural soap, an added scent, a natural fabric softener, or natural stain guard. Usually a natural replacement for one of the other additives listed here.
  • When to avoid it: in most cases, the oils in natural soaps will cause residue build up over time. I prefer to avoid petro-chemical products, but you need to understand the consequences of using natural products.
  • When to use it: some parents find no problem with natural soaps or soap nuts. If you want to go all natural and you have no problems, that’s perfect. If you do have build up but you don’t mind busting the build up with an occasion wash with RLR Laundry Treatment, that works. Ultimately, though, we’re trying to help you create a wash routine that works without leaving any kind of build up on your cloth diapers.

Free and Clear

  • What it is: microbiocidal or microbiostatic agents. Quaternary ammonium chloride and alcohol are two examples often used in detergents
  • What it does: kill (microbiocidal) or inhibit (microstatic) the growth of bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which could cause odor, staining, or allergies.
  • When to avoid it: if your fleece or PUL pocket diapers are leaking or repelling, this could be the culprit. These agents might be reacting with your water.
  • When to use it: many parents find no problem with free and clear detergents, but use with caution. Look for signs of leaking, and discontinue if it happens.

Enzymes

  • What it is: living enzyme cultures, most often in laundry detergent you will find protease (breaks down proteins) and amylase (breaks down carbohydrates)
  • What it does: breaks down (eats, digests, processes) organic materials that cause stains and odors
  • When to avoid it: when the warranty on your cloth diapers prohibits use of enzymes (maybe) or your child experiences redness or sensitivity (if you trace it back to enzymes). Most children will not have problems with diapers when enzymes are used in the cleaning. Studies suggest that it is not even possible for enzymes to cause rash and redness, since they do not attack living cells. It is common among cloth diaper people to recommend against the use of enzymes, but we find them a very useful, low-environmental impact addition to washing heavily soiled laundry such as cloth diapers, socks, and T-shirts.
  • When to use it: pre-soak or low-temperature wash. See our detailed post about enzymes in cloth diaper laundry from earlier this week.

The Basic Cleaners

Borax

  • What it is: sodium borate, mined from evaporated lakes or produced synthetically
  • What it does: softens water; converts water to hydrogen peroxide. Works better in hotter water.
  • When to avoid it: because borax is caustic, it could cause some breakdown in soft plastics and latex. You might want to avoid it on covers that have soft plastics (PUL) or elastic and on diapers with elastic. If you have trouble rinsing your laundry completely because of an HE washer or a detergent that leaves a residue, don’t use borax. It can be a skin irritant if left in residue. In general, though, borax used properly and rinsed completely is just one of the basic ingredients of laundry detergent. Keep it away from children and pets; don’t breathe it in; don’t use it around food.
  • When to use it: use freely with prefolds. Many homemade laundry detergents use borax as an ingredient. Unless you have trouble rinsing out detergent, it is safe.

Baking Soda

  • What it is: sodium bicarbonate, mined from evaporated mineral springs
  • What it does: in baking, it acts as leavening agent by reacting with acidic ingredients to release carbon dioxide; in laundry, it is used as a softener and odor absorber.
  • When to avoid it: when washing bamboo rayon, since it breaks down the fibers. It doesn’t just cause minor damage, it tries to return these extruded fibers to their pre-fiber goo state. IMPORTANT: DO NO USE WITH BAMBOO RAYON.
  • When to use it: sprinkle in your dry pail as an odor absorbing pre-treatment. Not generally a problem as an ingredient in detergent, unless you are using rayon diapers.

Oxygen Bleach

  • What it is: sodium percarbonate (or hydrogen peroxide, when liquid)
  • What it does: breaks the chemical bonds of color, such as stains that you are trying to remove from diapers.
  • When to avoid it: low temperatures, since it only works at higher temperatures. In general, you don’t need to avoid oxygen bleach or hydrogen peroxide. This is a safe alternative to chlorine bleach. If you notice excessive breakdown of fibers or if you are washing primarily PUL, you might want to use it only sparingly.
  • When to use it: generally safe for health and environment as an additive in laundry detergent or as an additional treatment for laundry.

Which laundry detergent additives you avoid often depends on your water, your washing machine, and the type of fabrics you are washing. We hope that understanding detergent ingredients will help you pick a detergent that will work for you from the start.

Image © Glo5 | Dreamstime.com