If green is the new black, baby diapers are anything but stylish. It turns out that all diapering choices — cloth, disposable, and hybrid — come with potential problems for Mother Earth. Because no method is absolutely environ- mentally friendly, the quandary persists: Wash or toss?

Unfortunately, science hasn’t yet settled the debate. Until recently, studies on the environmental impact of diapers were funded by either the disposable or cloth-diaper industries. The results were predictably biased, and each side of the argument called foul.

The United Kingdom broke this trend with a 2005 study from The Environment Agency, a British government bureau.
It found virtually no difference between the environmental effects of cloth and disposable diapers. In fact, the authors wrote, “For one child, over two and a half years, these impacts are roughly comparable with driving a car between 1,300 and 2,200 miles.” Issue settled, right? Not so fast. A Dutch study completed in 2007 concluded that cloth diapers are as much as seven times better for the environment than conventional disposable diapers.

Confused? It’s no wonder. But it all boils down to this: Washing cloth diapers consumes water. Conventional diapers take up landfill space. And even new hybrid products have potential problems.

While expecting her first child in 2007, Alex Kennaugh faced this problem head-on. As director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Green Living program, she talked to water consumption specialists, scientists studying the effects of chemicals in laundry detergents, and landfill experts. But she had no moment when the heavens opened revealing a ray of light shining on the perfect diaper. “There never seemed to be a clear answer about environmental effects of diapers — what was better or worse,” she says.