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The initial investment for cloth diapers may be expensive, but it becomes cheaper in the long run compared to the accumulated cost of disposable diapers.
The following table illustrates the amount you would have to spend for disposable diapers. These calculations are based on several assumptions:
- Diapers are worn only up to 2 years. If your child wears diapers for longer than 2 years (as lots of children do), then the cost will go higher.
- Diapers are purchased in their largest package to avail of bulk savings. If you purchase the smaller packages, then your cost will go higher.
- Your child is average-sized. If your child is bigger than average, then your cost will go higher.
- The total number of diapers shown here is a conservative figure, as it is estimated that a child goes through an average of 6,000 diapers in 2 years.
|
Size
|
Diapers/Day
|
# of Days
|
Total # of Diapers
|
Cheapest Brand
|
Most Expensive Brand
|
Total Cost Cheap
|
Total Cost Expensive
|
|
Newborn
|
12
|
30
|
360
|
6
|
9.57
|
2,160
|
3,445.2
|
|
Small
|
10
|
60
|
600
|
5.7
|
12.42
|
3,420
|
7,452
|
|
Medium
|
8
|
180
|
1,440
|
5.89
|
11.40
|
8,481.60
|
16,416
|
|
Large
|
6
|
270
|
1,620
|
7.32
|
13.52
|
11,858.40
|
21,902.4
|
|
XLarge
|
6
|
180
|
1,080
|
8.76
|
15.06
|
9,460.80
|
16,264.8
|
|
Total
|
|
720
|
5,100
|
|
|
35,380.80
|
65,480.40
|
As shown on the table, you would be spending anywhere between PhP35,000 to PhP65,000 for 2 years’ worth of disposable diapers. Based upon this, we can determine that on average, parents spend around PhP50,000 on disposable diapers.
Compare the cost of disposable diapers with the figures on the following table. The following table shows the costs of the different cloth diapering systems, enough to diaper a child from birth to 2 years.
|
System
|
Size
|
Quantity
|
Cost
|
Total Cost
|
|
Prefolds & Covers
DSQ Prefolds
Diaperaps Covers
|
Infant
Regular
Infant
Newborn
Small
Medium
Large
|
2 dozen
2 dozen
4
4
4
4
4
|
1,100
1,300
500
500
500
500
500
|
2,200
2,600
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
14,800
|
|
Fitteds & Covers
Heiny Huggers
Diaperaps Covers
|
Newborn
Small
Medium
Large
Infant
Newborn
Small
Medium
Large
|
18
18
12
12
4
4
4
4
4
|
550
550
550
550
500
500
500
500
500
|
9,900
9,900
6,600
6,600
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
43,000
|
|
Sized Pocket Diapers
Happy Heinys
Microfiber Inserts
|
Tiny
Small
Medium
Large
|
18
18
12
12
30
|
750
800
800
800
140
|
13,500
14,400
9,600
9,600
4,200
|
|
|
|
|
|
51,300
|
|
One-Size Pocket Diapers
Happy Heinys
|
Mini
Regular
|
24
12
|
875
875
|
21,000
10,500
|
|
|
|
|
|
31,500
|
|
One-Size Pocket Diapers
Fuzzi Bunz
|
One Size
|
30
|
1,025
|
30,750
|
|
|
|
|
|
30,750
|
|
Prefolds, Fitteds, Covers and Pockets
DSQ Prefolds
Heiny Huggers
Diaperaps Covers
Happy Heinys
|
Infant
Regular
Newborn
Small
Medium
Large
Infant
Newborn
Small
Medium
Large
One-Size
|
2 dozen
1 dozen
2
2
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
9
|
1,100
1,300
550
550
550
550
500
500
500
500
500
900
|
2,200
1,300
1,100
1,100
2,200
2,200
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
2,000
8,100
|
|
|
|
|
|
28,200
|
|
Prefolds, Fitteds, Covers and Pockets
Diaperaps Prefolds
Diaperaps Covers
Fuzzi Bunz
|
Infant
Infant
Newborn
One-Size
|
2 dozen
4
4
4
12
|
1,100
500
500
1,025
|
2,200
2,000
2,000
12,300
|
|
|
|
|
|
18,500
|
The most economical system is prefolds and covers. At PhP14,800, it is way cheaper than even the cheapest disposable diaper!
The added convenience of using fitteds brings the cost up to PhP43,000, a little more expensive than the cheapest disposables, but still a lot of savings compared to the average disposables. And for just a little more money, you can get top-quality cloth diapers as opposed to the cheapest, leakiest disposables!
If you prefer to use mainly pocket diapers, buying them in different sizes will cost PhP51,300, which is slightly more expensive than the average disposables. However, the cost can be reduced dramatically by using one-size pocket diapers, which brings down the cost to as low as PhP30,750, which is cheaper than the cheapest disposable diapers!
To further save on costs, you can combine different systems. Using mainly prefolds/covers during the newborn stage, and a combination of fitteds/covers and one-size pocket diapers when your baby is older, will cost only PhP28,200.
Our suggested combination of prefolds/covers and pocket diapers will only cost PhP18,500. Compare this with the average cost of disposables at P50,000 – it is almost only a third of the price! That is a lot of savings!
Please note:
- The size Large can accommodate most toddlers up to 2 years (up to 27 lbs for the covers and 35 lbs for the diapers). There is no need for the XLarge size unless your baby is bigger than average.
- You don’t have to buy everything all at once. You can divide the cost by buying only the size you need at one time.
- Where applicable, the prices listed above are for bulk orders (e.g. P500 each for 4 covers instead of the regular P550).
- Your costs will go further down when you use the same diapers on your next child/children.
- It is assumed that you will wash the diapers daily. If you plan to wash every 2 days, you will need a few more diapers.
Back to Guide to Modern Cloth Diapers
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