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Thanks to BC reader Renee for reviewing 7th Generation diapers:
First Impressions: Seventh generation is “committed to reducing the amount of dioxin created by manufacturing.” Most diapers are bleached which creates toxins like dioxin but Seventh Generation diapers are chlorine free. According to the package exposure to dioxin has been directly linked to birth defects, cancer, environmental and reproductive disorders. Reading this was food for thought because, of course, I want the best for my child. Exposing him to dioxin sounds frightening.
Opening the package, the first thing I noticed was the brown color of the diapers. They are plain without fragrance or ornamentation. They also feel very papery to the touch on the outside. This worried me because I was concerned about the comfort factor, but my concerns were alleviated as soon as I opened the diaper. These diapers are surprisingly soft; although they are not as soft as premium Pampers, they are on par with Luvs and actually softer than Huggies Soft and Dry.
In Use: The diaper fits true to size, my son wears a size 3 (16-28 lbs) and is within 5 pounds of the high range of these but they were perfect with no gaps and room for him to grow. The noticeably different design element is the front tabs. They do not stretch as far back as I am accustomed to but the sticky tabs had a substantial amount of stretch so there were no problems.
These diapers are highly absorbent and performed extremely well; with regular use there were no leaks or blowouts. The diaper wicked away the wetness from the skin and initially I actually had to feel the diaper on the inside in order to tell if it was wet. Overnight they worked like a charm. My son slept in them for nine hours and the diaper was totally full but that is to be expected in that span of time. They only unusual thing I noticed is that when the diaper is full it puffs out and away unlike other diapers that stay flush to the skin. This actually is a good design because it keeps the wetness away from the baby’s skin.
Summary: Overall I would recommend Seventh Generation diapers. These diapers are environmentally friendly and manufactured without the creation of harmful toxins. They perform as well or better than standard diapers. However, using “green” diapers comes at a cost. I purchased a package of 35 diapers for $10.99 at Babies R Us, translating into a whopping .31 cents per diaper. Despite the possible exposure to dioxin using standard diapers I cannot stray from my diaper cheapskate mentality. On average I pay .14 cents per diaper for Luvs and Huggies but if I find a great sale and have coupons I will definitely purchase Seventh Generation diapers.
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26 comments:
Thanks for this review. I've started educating myself on common household chemicals and the more I read the more I feel like I've been duped in a major way by big business. I'll be switching to Seventh Generation diapers asap (even though my frugal heart says *ugh*). The thought of my sweet two year old sleeping with all those chemicals in her regular diapers is creeping me out.
Angie, I'm so pleased that you are emphasizing a wide variety of products and opinions in the articles you are posting. Thanks for your fab site!
there are coupons on the 7th gen site: http://www.seventhgeneration.com/coupons
I use them, too, esp when travelling and don't have room to bring cloth. They work great! The Size 4 are a little big for my 22 lb baby - but the tabs are cut different then the size 3 and stretch over just fine.
This review is right on - we switched to 7th Gen when I was at wits end trying to heal a bad diaper rash (even though Pampers had been just fine up until that point). We stuck with them. I buy them from Amazon Subscribe & Save and they typically run from 26-30c per diaper, depending on the price when they ship.
I've used these diapers since the beginning with my son and I have always bought them using the subscribe and save feature on amazon. The size 3's come out to .26 a diaper with no tax and free shipping. Stage 4's come out to .30 a diaper. It's worth it alone to have them shipped to me:) Plus when I've ordered, they have been at my door the next day, 90% of the time. I love them!
I love those diapers, they are all I use! I get them on Amazon with the subscribe and save option, too, they are much cheaper that way.
I love SG diapers. I buy them through Amazon Subscribe and Save as well. Also, there were a lot of great deals on them in April around Earth Day, so it was a great time to stock up.
Great review! But at that price, I might just stick to my Pampers for now. Would be great if my membership club carried them so I can get them at cheap.
I was just going to add that we also switched to 7G from name brands (Pampers/Huggies) and get them from Amazon.com subscribe & save. I didn't think we'd like them but I have gotten used to them and they are great. They have the same gel chemicals as other diapers to absorb the wetness, so they aren't compostable but at least the manufacturing is a little more earth friendly.
I stocked up on the 7G diapers back in April?, and we use them primarily at night (baby in diapers 12+ hours...that covers half the day)! When he's with family, we keep him in Pampers, Luvs, etc., when he's with the babysitter (who must change him every hour-which is fine, I'd rather it be that way) he has Babies R Us or Publix (BRU I don't like-they leak with me :) and Publix I got CHEAP!)...
Great review, Renee. I'm almost our of the diaper stage, but I wish I'd found out about these much sooner than I did.
I disagree with this review. I tried SG to help the environment and have a "greener" diaper for my daughter. When we tried them she was 11mo old and had only had two diaper leaks her entire life. We used these and she had 3 leaks in the first 2 days of use. We bought 2 packages b/c of a coupon so we used them for a couple weeks and the leaked numerous times. I am in the process of switching completely to cloth diapers.
We bought a pack of these to take out of town on an overnight trip(we're 100% cloth at home) and loved them so much that we bought another pack to have around "just in case". They have performed fabulously...not one leak or blowout. I love the stretchiness of the tabs as well. I used the $2 coupon from their website, in addition to the latest BRU save 10% on your entire order coupon. That made them the same price as other brands.
We use these quite a bit, but we've had some real leaking problems, so if we know we're not going to be able to change him in a couple of hours, we use Pampers. I'd love to be able to use exclusively these but they really always leak for us, unfortunately.
I just discovered Nature's Babycare diapers and they're even more earth-friendly than 7th Generation. In the day I use gdiapers with a cloth insert, and at night we use the Nature's Babycare. They're compostable (if only wet) and are unbleached, don't leak, etc... We've been very pleased!
Wow I had a completely different experience with them. I did my own review a month or so ago here http://startingtosave.blogspot.com/2008/05/was-it-worth-buying_6881.html. It's amazing how different people's experiences can be with the same product.
I have been a 7G user after my son had persistent allergic rashes to the fragrances and chemicals that are added to Pampers, Luvs, and many other diapers. Switching to these diapers immediately took care of the problems. He can also wear Huggies Supreme and a couple of generics without breaking out (these don't add any fragrances), but I prefer the fit of 7G. Also, I am trying to run a chemical free household. I believe that we underestimate the amount of chemicals our skin absorbs. After all, isn't that one of the main ways drug companies are using to deliver their new drugs?
For the people that have had problems, were these the new style or old style? They greatly changed the design earlier this year. I stocked up on the April sales, and some packs were the new (35 size 3s) and some were the old (40 size 3s). The new design has better tabs, better absorbancy, and a larger size. So you might want to buy another pack and try again if your experiences were more than several months ago.
I HAVE found a diaper that is slightly better. Thanks to the review here, I just tried Whole Foods 365. They are the same price (10.99) and give you 38 diapers in the size 3 pack. These have an extra dry weave inset that seems to keep my son drier, a great fit, and they are white instead of tan (but not bleached with chlorine). Thanks for introducing me to another great chemical-free diaper alternative!
I'd like to try these for my new son due Oct. 1, so I checked out reviews on Amazon. The newborn diapers seemed to have real leak issues, so I'm afraid to try those. Thanks to everyone who mentioned other more enviro/baby friendly brands.
You can also buy these from diapers.com. I ordered some 7G training pants for my daughter since they cost less than pull-ups, and have been pleased with them. The sides don't "reseal," but they are very stretchy and I like that they are not bleached.
with a BRU coupon and 7th gen coupon off their website, it's cheaper than Pampers! my son wears one overnight (for 12 hours) and it keeps his diaper rash away. i love them.
Right now these diapers are 2 for $20 at BRU. Not a bad way to try them out if you ask me, but you have to buy 2 to get that price.
I tried Seventh Generation for my 6-month-old and it did leak during the day when my daughter was playing in her exersaucer with a full diaper. Yes, it was time to change her diaper but with Pampers you have to wait REALLY long to get leaks.
Like many others, I would buy them regularly if I could afford it.
I have a friend who made a diaper cake for me out of these diapers for my shower. They do have an interesting color and my parents asked if they had already been peed on. I will be probably just using that one pack, the other disposibles I have and then switching to part-time cloth diapering until I get the hang of it.
I've looked at these as well, but decided to give the Tushies a go since they don't contain the gel. Tushies are a bit harder to find, but the thought of the gel filling landfills isn't pleasant.
And I wish any review of disposable diapers would stress that solid waste should be flushed in the toilet and NOT wrapped in the diaper for the landfill!!!
Actually many people are unaware that many landfills are starting to be converted into methane plants, which is a way to convert our trash into cheap power. I know the owner of one of the companies that is doing this. Baby diapers, especially in breathable paper diapers such as 7G, are one of the best catalysts for the gas. They have even bought up bags of poopy diapers to test their plants. So maybe ingenuity has created another solution to this problem!
I used only cloth with my first...but started using sposies when we were out once I had a second...so we try to use 7G and I LOVE them...I've even used them overnight at home several times because they can go all night w/o any leaks! I order mine on diapers.com... and they let you send in your printed or clipped coupons and use them on orders... I accidentally got the Nature's Babycare once and I loved them to...AMAZING diapers!!
I LOVE how these fit! The tabs are super stretchy. But...these are the only ones that give my DD rash. I'm so bummed because I was totally on board with the extra cost.
Interesting that someone posted that these give their kid a rash... these are the only diapers I've found that don't give my kid a rash! And the subscribe & save from amazon is a life saver!
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