Did you know the average baby uses 3,500 diapers in it’s lifetime, that diapers are the third largest source of solid waste in our landfills and take up to 500 years to decompose? So of course, this green mom switched to cloth, right?

Ummm…not quite. I just couldn’t take the plunge for a whole host of reasons….and admittedly, some excuses. But the thought of all those diapers piling up was bothering me so last year, when my daughter came home from Vietnam, we tried gDiapers.

gDiapers have a cloth outer in cool bright colors, an interior plastic liner, and what looks like a giant maxi-pad that you tuck inside (cotton inserts are also available). When it’s soiled, you can tear down the side and shake it into the toilet, but don’t do this if you’re on septic. The pad is biodegradable and if only urine is on it, can be composted although I can’t quite bring myself to compost the diapers yet. My favorite bonus feature is that her room doesn’t smell nearly as bad as my son’s did.

A few negatives: They don’t work for us at night—and they will sometimes leak onto the outer lining. But we’ve never had problems with major leaks or blow-outs. After shaking them into the toilet, we also let them sit and wait for the opportunity to join in with another flush and that seems to prevent both the extra water usage and the problem of clogging we had early on.

The cost is higher than regular diapers by about .14 cents per diaper, which definitely is a turn off for some. Our nearest Whole Foods doesn’t stock them, so we have to buy them by the case and have them shipped.

In terms of green, G-diapers are Cradle-to-Cradle certified and have gotten a decent number of good reviews from other green moms online. While I am pretty sure in a full life cycle assessment, cloth diapers might be better overall for the environment, this green mom feels that gdiapers are a practically green solution for busy families. Overall, we are fans.