One Step At A Time Towards A Greener Lifestyle
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Posted by Greenbee on October 17, 2009
Just made a Twitter account. Bet you can’t guess the name… StepsToGoGreen. So far, 0 followers. At least you have Tom as a friend when you create a MySpace page.
Hmm I have that “odd kid on the school bus” feeling…
Posted by Greenbee on
The October issue of Mother Jones Magazine discusses the global impact of plastic bottled water production. We all know of the plastic waste created by bottled products, but many go on drinking bottled water thinking that since plastic is recyclable, the use is justified. The article “Spin The Bottle” covers the impact of bottled water beyond just the waste. The impact of producing bottled water on third-world villages is beyond belief. This is a very informative read and will open your eyes. I think I might just switch to using aluminum water containers.
Posted by Greenbee on October 12, 2009
The undertaking of” eco-friendly” diapers . . .
I decided the other day to find a more earth-friendly diaper system for my son. I have been using Huggies Little Snugglers Diapers
, as a salesperson at the local baby store said that they would be the most comfortable for my son. Some psychological mom instincts told me that only the best was fitting for my son’s bottom and I was sold. One day while throwing away yet another diaper, I realized that each of his diapers would sit in a landfill for hundreds of years. So I decided to switch from Huggies Little Snugglers Diapers
to Huggies Pure & Natural Baby Diapers
. I know it is a small step, but a step none the less. Huggies Pure & Natural Baby Diapers
still adds to landfills, but apparently uses organic cotton and contains no fragrances (compared to Huggies Little Snugglers Diapers
). It’s hard to say how these are “greener” – it is easy to be persuaded by advertisements that promise to guide me to better products. Slap “organic” or “new and improved” on the box and it seems I have some unconscious tendency to buy that brand over another product missing that crucial label.
While feeling that I was living slightly greener and have taken that small step to “Green”-ville, I did notice a few differences between Huggies Pure and Natural compared to Huggies Supreme:
Size vs. Weight: Huggies Pure and Natural are softer and tend to fit well for the weight category each stage is designated for. With Huggies Supreme, I had to upgrade to the next stage of diapers well before my newborn was at the weight range. This small difference was a huge factor when buying diapers. I avoided buying diapers in bulk as I would worried my newborn would outgrow his diaper any moment. I have had that happen to me before, where I was left with diapers I could not use. I do plan to donate those diapers.
Price comparison: Huggies Pure and Natural do not sell in bulk and cost more than other diapers out there. You can sign up at Huggies website to receive coupons of up to $3.00 USD savings on each package of diapers.
Overall product comparison: Huggies Supreme seem to do a better job of keeping the moisture away from the surface of the diaper, so that the baby does not feel the wetness and is less fussy between changing. Huggies Pure and Natural did well at absorbing moisture, but I would have to change my baby about 3-4 times more often a day, which adds up to a lot more diapers over time, i.e., more waste. Both Huggies Supreme and Huggies Pure and Natural leave small debris. Huggies Supreme sometimes leaves small gel particles, while Huggies Pure and Natural leaves small pieces of cotton.
Overall, Huggies Pure and Natural has been a positive step in going green. These diapers use more organic materials (cotton), rather than using plastics or some other material that will outlive all of us in a landfill. If you have a baby that is not too fussy with the slightest dampness, this diaper can be a greener choice in comparison to other diapers in the diaper aisle.
This is the first of future steps to come. I plan on trying a diaper liner system sometime in the future.
Posted by GreenWarrior on October 5, 2009
Like many of other people we are not 100% green. We are everyday people taking steps to getting there. We look forward to enjoy sharing each experience and new information we discover on our path down the green brick road!
