The Environment;

Cloth Nappies, even with the cost of washing, drying and the chemicals used to make them, leave a much smaller impact on our environment than throw-away nappies.

In NZ, about 575 million "disposable" nappies are used every year (=10M per week)

More facts:

* It takes one full cup of crude oil to make the plastic for each "disposable" nappy.
* It takes 4.5 trees to make the pulp used in "disposable" nappies for one baby over 2 1/2 years (ie: 7 million trees a year are felled for UK babies, 1.3 million trees for NZ babies)
* "Disposable" nappies use 3.5 times more energy, 8 times more non-renewable raw materials, 90 times more renewable materials than washable nappies. It takes as much energy to produce one throwaway nappy as it does to wash a cloth nappy 200 times.
* "Disposables" produce 2.3 times more waste water (at the production stage) and 60 times more solid waste than washable nappies – one baby in disposables will produce 2 tonnes of solid waste!
* In a household with one baby, "disposables" will make up 50% of total household waste. Just one single item, "disposables", make up 6% of total waste in Wellington

Because they're better for your baby;

* Chemicals and gels contained in the absorbent layer of "disposables" are not subject to government controls or independent testing, and there is no labelling requirement on the packaging. There have been NO long-term studies into the effects on skin of constant exposure to the polyacralyte super absorbent gels found in most disposable nappies.
* Research has shown that "disposables" could maintain boys' testicles at higher than normal temperatures, which may have an effect on fertility.

Taken from the Zero Waste website