ReDyper

April 2012

RE: Earth Baby diaper service vs tossing in green bin

I use the Earth Baby service and my understanding is that the city cannot handle soiled diapers in their composting system as they're still considered human waste even if you 'shake the poop' out. If you want to double check I'd recommend you contact your city just to be sure. (On a side note, I do like the service a lot & the products are good. Figure as long as I'm choosing disposable over cloth it's worth a little more to keep them out of landfill.)

mama of an earth baby baby

Jan 2012

RE: Compostable diaper services

We've been using earth baby. We chose them over tiny tots because it worked out to be cheaper (I don't think this is true if you do a combo of cloth and compostable, which only tiny tots allows you to do, but was true for only compostable).

We really, really like the fit of the nature's best diapers, and did not at all like the fit or feel of the ones TT uses (a friend gave us some to try while we were deciding). We've found the company to be very responsive and friendly, and had no problems with pick up / drop offs.

At ~15 months, we go through about 5 a day. Usually a little less, but we just used that for planning a vacation and it worked out about right. They are comparable (or even a little better) to 7th generation disposables, but seem to hold their shape better and not sag as much. Even if we were to stop the service we'd keep using the same diapers. l.

Hi - I'm going on three years with Earth-Baby compostable service. I got my son out of diapers just in time to have a new baby in them. I have had a great experience with them. Their customer service is excellent, their website is easy to navigate (it has been improved since they started) and I feel really good about not adding to the landfill. Our kids are in daycare, so cloth was not an option, but I really feel like this might be the best of all worlds -- no water usage to wash cloth, nothing in the landfill. The people who run it are parents and are very thoughtful about things. If your baby suddenly outgrows a size, they'll take unopened packs back, no problem. They can also accommodate vacation schedules easily. You set up your account with a recurring delivery, but you can change it at any time. And if you realize you need something between recurring deliveries, you can add it on to your next pickup. It's all pretty easy.

You asked about the diapers: they are great. I actually used Nature BabyCare diapers even before we found out about Earth Baby, because a friend recommended them. They are very absorbant, but also feel soft and breathable, without all the plastic-y feeling of other diapers. They fit well, stay on well, and are way less bulky than cloth diapers. My only complaint is they don't make a newborn size. They do run small (so I change to the next size up at the bottom of the weight range for that size), but unless your little one is a real heavyweight, you'll probably need to do something else for at least a couple of weeks before you can do the Nature BabyCare. They do make a pull-up, which my three year-old is in at night, and we've been happy with that. Nature BabyCare diapers are more expensive than store brands, but not terribly so. Earth-Baby sells them to you for less than I can buy them on Diapers.com, so you're not getting ripped off there. They charge a monthly fee for the pickup, no matter how many diapers you send. The fee has increased since I started with them, but it's still very reasonable.

EarthBaby's front door pick-up and delivery is very easy. They sell other stuff on their website, too, including the compostable bags you need to collect them in. We inherited a DiaperGenie, which doesn't do compostable bags, so I do transfer the diapers each week into a compostable bag, but if you have a different collection bin, you won't have to do that smelly task.

In terms of how many diapers I go through, that really depends on your babe. My daughter is a once a day pooper, so we probably only use 5-7 diaper a day with her, even though she's still an infant. My son was an every-other-feed pooper, so we went through a lot more. But I think the compostable diapers are more like disposable ones than cloth in terms of absorbancy. Anyway, I definitely recommend Earth Baby. It's a great service! I'll sign with my name, because I think if you tell them I referred you, I get a free pack of diapers or something. Shannon

Congratulations! And good for you for exploring compostables. We've tried both Tiny Tots and Earth Baby this year. Based on my experience: Go Earth Baby.

We've been solely using compostable diapers for our baby (our first, now six months old), with an occasional disposable here and there during travel. We've been totally happy with our decision.

We started with Tiny Tots because Earth Baby did not (at the time) service our area. Initially, we thought the diapers were great - surprisingly absorbent and very few leaks - although they felt a little 'paper-y'. But as our baby grew they no longer fit very well. We started having more frequent leakage because of the ill fit - neither the size up or size down worked quite right.

Then we got word from Earth Baby that they started servicing our part of town. The brand of compostables that Earth Baby uses is - for us - way better. The material is softer and they have great elastic waist and leg bands, translating into a better fit and far far fewer leaks. They are more like disposable diapers in fit and feel than the brand used by Tiny Tots. We felt bad leaving Tiny Tots (they have great customer service), but for our baby the Earth Baby diapers are AWESOME. The absorbency is comparable to brand name disposables but without the weird gel-ball filling and the guilt. We love them.

You've probably worked out that the pricing is comparable between the two. Oh, and it might just be our babe, but it's a very rare occasion when he gets diaper rash. His butt is very happy in compostables.

As for how many we go through, it varies. Right now at six months old we might be using 40-55 a week? Sorry for the big range - I'm just guesstimating. We used MANY many more when he was a newborn!

Good luck with your decision! Compostable Diaper Lover

Experience with Earth Baby Diaper Service?

Oct 2010

Hi, We are considering using this service for our new baby and wondered what experiences others have had with the products and/or company? http://www.earth-baby.com/pages.php?pageid=14 I've used the brand of wipes they sell but not the diapers. I'd love any comments about quality and fit of diapers (I tend to have slender babies) as well as anything about the service itself. Thanks! Susan

We have used Earth-Baby for 8 months now and LOVE it! The pick up and delivery are always reliable, N.Berkeley pick up is on Thursdays. We use the diapers and wipes. If you have a slender baby, I do, the diapers are great, nice snug fit not super bulky. You will know immediately if you need to go up or down a size, because a blow out will happen. They work overnight as well, no leaks. My son is 8 months 18lbs and wears a size 3. You can order the starter pack and everything you need comes in it to get you going. You have to use compostable bags for the waste, we use the bio bags in our diaper champ, and have had no problems. The diapers start fitting at around 8lbs, so if you have a small baby, my son was 6lb 13oz when he was born, you may need to wait until the baby is a bit bigger as the newborn diapers did not fit him right away. After the start up fee of $25.00, we pay about $18-20 per week including the diapers, wipes, pick up and delivery. Very worth it in my opinion. They are a wonderful company and provide excellent customer service. I've called them many times with a last minute addition to my order and they are always happy to help. Good Luck! The Kuehnl Family

I used this service for a couple of months and I found it too expensive. You pay $30/month for pickup and drop-off, but you still pay full price for the diapers in addition to the $30/month cost. I liked the diapers (and I have a skinny child) but I have serious doubts about how Earth Baby is able to compost them; the diapers themselves do not claim to be compostable, and searching through articles about them on the web reveals that they are only 60-80% compostable materials.

Tiny Tots (http://tinytots.com/) also has a compostable service and when I switched to that my costs went way down. You can even get a 'hybrid' cloth/compostable service. I used them until my daughter potty-trained and highly recommend their customer service as well. Sarah

We've used Earth Baby for a year and love them - the products are great, the service is even better and you feel good about not clogging up our children's world with their diapers! The diapers seem to be standard size. Only hint: the adhesive on these diapers isa bit different than on toxic ones. At first I didn't see that there was a 'designated' area for the diaper tabs to be stuck to - so I was just blindly securing the diapers, and every so often one wouldn't stick very well. I thought it was a manufacturing flaw, but now it's not an issue at all. I would recommend Earth Baby to everyone - it's my new standard baby shower and new baby gift - one month of the service to get started!

I have to say that I am 'over the moon' about Earth Baby. Finally, I get the convenience of disposables with the peace of mind that they are truly composted. My daughter started getting vicious diaper rashes with the cloth diapers and it stopped the second we switched over to Earth Baby. The hamper does get really stinky though and we moved it outside our house to avoid the stink- the cloth did not seem to reek as badly. The diapers seem on par with other disposables as well. It costs slightly more than using cloth, but it's worth it when you think about all the water you are conserving. Brasa

We've been using Earth Baby compostable diaper service since my daughter was born April 6th, 2010. We have been very happy with it. The diapers fit well on our child who has always been the long and lean side. We put her in a size up from her weight range and we've had only occasional overflows. The only downside is that it is a little pricier than the other options. But, we feel like it's been totally worth it for the convenience and ecological benefits. We also have a few other friends who have been using it and are happy as well. They also deliver things like nursing pads & diaper balm with is really handy. The nursing pads are also compostable. We also bought a daiper champ that works well with the compostable bags. I'd definitely recommend the service. Sara

We've been using Earth Baby for about a year now, and I have no complaints. I LOVE the Nature Baby Care diapers and wipes - I was using them with my son even before Earth Baby started delivering to my neighborhood in SF. I used to buy them from Diapers.com, but Earth Baby sells them a bit cheaper, so it's not like I'm paying extra for the diapers in order to use the service. I have no complaints with Earth Baby. Their website used to be a bit confusing when you were placing new orders, but they've fixed that. They've never missed a delivery or a pickup, the billing is very simple and hassle free, and it's easy to reschedule deliveries or pickups when you are on vacation. You always get someone on the phone or by email if you need to troubleshoot something. Most of all, I feel really good about decreasing our impact on the environment. You can't deny, disposable diapers are convenient (and we didn't have a choice of cloth, because my son was in daycare), and this way, you get to have the convenience without the guilt. Love the compostable option

Nov 2009

Has anyone in the area started using the Earth Baby compostable diaper service (http://www.earth- baby.com/home.php)? According to the website, service in our area just starting in October. Seems like a great idea. We have used this brand of disposable diapers and wipes (Nature Babycare) and they work great. Unfortunately, I was aware of the problem that municipal landfills are not the ideal environment for these compostable diapers to break down quickly. So this seems like a great solution to me, but thought I was ask if anyone has experience with the service before signing up. Thanks Jennifer

We've been using Earth Baby diaper service for about a month and a half now, and we love it! You do have to buy the Nature Babycare diapers and wipes from them in order to use their service, but the cost of the diapers is very close to what you would find elsewhere. Plus, it's really convenient to order online. They have great customer service if you have any questions. Laurel

We've been using Earth Baby since they started up in Oakland a few months ago, and we have been very happy so far. It's very satisfying to see how much less garbage we have each week! The diapers are pretty good quality in terms of absorption and fit, too. For me it's well worth the extra cost, which is around $29.99 a month (plus they make you buy the diapers from them--not sure how their price compares to Target). satisfied customer

Oct 2009

Hello, I was wondering if anyone was familiar w/ Earth Baby Compostable Diaper Service and could share feedback? My co- worker recently told me about them, it's a diaper service that picks up/ delivers compostable diapers instead of cloth and then composts the diapers into soil. My son's 20 mths and we've used cloth diapers since birth but they're getting pretty unbearable. We're expecting our second and I'm not sure I'm up for double diaper duty w/ the cloth and would love another green alternative. My understanding is compostable diapers sent to a landfill aren't much different from tradtl diapers so the fact that these are actually composted sounds pretty compelling. Any feedback or thoughts would be much appreciated!! Carrie

I have been using Earth Baby Diaper service for a few months and am quite happy with them. I too was feeling guilty about the waste of disposable diapers, but my day care doesn't do cloth diapers, so I didn't start out with cloth, like you. I had been using Nature Babycare's diapers since my son was born, which are compostable (and GREAT!) but knew that it didn't make much difference as long as they were going to the landfill. Anyway, I'm feeling much better about the Earth Baby service. They pick up our used diapers once a week (we just leave them on our porch) and once a month they deliver my recurring order of diapers, wipes, etc. If I miscalculate (so far, I'm having a hard time predicting exactly what I need for monthly supply) I can add in an extra order, to be delivered with my pickup. They charge a monthly fee for the service (and it doesn't matter how many kids you have), plus you have to buy the diapers from them. For what it's worth, they sell the diapers slightly cheaper than Diapers.com, so I feel like I'm getting a fair deal. You have to use compostable bags to put them on a porch, but I still use the diaper genie, but just cut the knotted ends and dump the diapers into a big bag at the end of the week. My only complaint is that their billing is a little confusing. But I understand they are trying to fix it. Shannon

My baby is 9 days old & has only worn earth baby's diapers (actually nature babycare diapers). They just started delivering in the East Bay, but I was so eager to get my hands on them, I had them delivered to a friend's house in SF before the baby was born.

I like the mix of convenience & eco-friendliness. They deliver to your door, then pick up the dirty diapers & compost them, using a fraction of the resources needed to wash/disinfect cloth diapers, and no toxic chemicals (cloth diaper services need to use bleach). They deliver wipes, too. Their goal is to eliminate disposable diapers and wipes from landfills (go, diaper activism!) Other companies offer what they call compostable diapers. However, they will not likely compost in landfill, and/or contain non-compostable ingredients. You canb0708>Tidee Didee Diaper Services t do it yourself, because you cannot put human waste in your own compost. This is the only service that will pickup the diapers and compost them in their facility that does it safely with a minimum of energy. They have a GREAT rep w/ parents via Natural Resources, the eco baby store in SF. I'm so excited to have another option! The size 1 is a little big on our newborn (7lbs @ birth; 7lbs 7oz now). We've had a few leaks, but we're new parents, so we're still learning how to put them on securely.

The person I spoke to there is Karen, info [at] earth-baby.com (info[at]earth-baby[dot]com). She's a mom, so she gets it. Super nice & really helpful. A in Berkeley C