I have been meaning to share my thesis work for a long time now, but sometimes life takes over and all of a sudden it is the beginning of a new year. For those of you who don't know, I graduated with an MA in Sustainable Design in 2017.

So here it is! 

It all started, when I came to the realization that there is no true sustainable way of diapering, because both disposable and cloth-diapering methods are not fully sustainable. This includes cloth diapering at home and at a cloth diapering service. After all, there are simply different sustainable problems that arise from them:

3. Considering Material Health of Diapers as well as Safety of Laundry Detergent
(After all choosing detergents and cloth diapers without health-damaging substances ensures social sustainability)

4. Designing an Electric Vehicle and Cargo Bicycle Transportation System

As a result the benefits of this model are:
        +  NO Water Eutrophication
        +  MINIMAL Fresh Water Depletion
        +  NO Fresh Water Ecotoxicity
        +  LESS Health Damaging Substances
        +  LESS Fossil Fuel Depletion
        +  LESS Climate Change

It is important to implement strategies to improve the ecological footprint from diapering. Even though the ideas described in the thesis project are about a diaper service, certain aspects can be applied at home. For instance people could use a grey water recycling system to wash cloth diapers and they can line dry the diapers instead of running a dryer. Additionally, home owners can install solar panels to generate the electricity needed. 

You can view my whole thesis below, which explains everything in detail.

Let me know if you have any comments or questions in regards to this project. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

5 Ways To Make Cloth Diapering More Sustainable

Yes, you read correctly - this post is about how to make cloth diapering more sustainable. If you'd like to know more about why cloth diapering is not as sustainable as it may seem, let me know in the comments and I will make sure to create a blog post about that. 

In my thesis project during my studies at MCAD, I redesigned a traditional diaper service in order to reduce and/or eliminate negative environmental impacts that arise with cloth diapering. Here are a few points you can take away from my thesis work, that will help you to make cloth diapering more sustainable. 

1. Line-Dry Diapers
   Since it takes energy to run a dryer and most electricity is generated through fossil fuels, it is best to reduce the amount of electricity needed in the drying process. Therefore, unless you use solar or wind power to generate electricity at your house, it is best to line-dry the diapers. Even better, you can line dry them in the sun, which will also help remove stains, as UV light naturally bleaches fabric.
2. Pre-Soak Diapers in Rain Water
   I have found that I need to use a lot of water in the cleaning process so that my cloth liners or diapers don't stain (especially with runny baby poop, which seems to stain strongly). In order to reduce your contributing factor to fresh water depletion, you can collect rain water that you can use in the cleaning process.
3. Use Safe Laundry Detergent
   Laundry detergent should have ingredients that are safe for your child and the environment, considering the water used in the washing process does reach the environment after the diapers have been washed. Unfortunately, most laundry detergents on the market are not as safe as they are advertised as. (I wrote a blog post about that as well, check that out here). Your best bet is to choose detergents with simple ingredients.
4. Use Safe Cloth Diaper
   By choosing a diaper material that is not going to irritate your baby's skin, you can keep your baby happy and their bum nice and soft . Gentle organic fabrics are a good way to go. We mostly use gDiapers with simple cotton inserts, but there are a lot of great cloth diaper brands out there.
5. Use correct diaper size
   Using the correct diaper size will help to reduce the amount of laundry needed to clean the diapers. Namely, if babies wear diapers that are too big or too small, you may experience more blow-outs. Thus, it is important to find a diaper that fits well. We have found that there are many one-size diaper options that adjust nicely to a growing baby.