The Procter & Gamble Company: A Life-Cycle Analysis

The document describes a 1990 life-cycle analysis (LCA) conducted by Arthur D. Little, Inc. for Procter & Gamble to evaluate the trade-offs between disposable and reusable diapers. The analysis reveals that while disposable diapers generate significantly more post-consumer waste, reusable diapers require substantially more energy and water consumption. The study also notes that disposables are associated with a lower incidence of diaper rash and can be more cost-effective when home labor is valued at minimum wage or higher.

• Disposable diapers contribute significantly to waste streams in the United States, accounting for 1-3% of the country's annual trash output, which equates to 3.6 million tons.
• A life-cycle analysis comparing weekly diaper needs shows that reusable diapers have higher energy consumption (78,890 Btu vs 23,290 Btu), water consumption (144 gal vs 23.6 gal), and atmospheric emissions (0.86 lbs vs 0.09 lbs) than disposable diapers.
• Disposable diapers result in significantly higher post-consumer waste (22.18 lbs per week) compared to reusable diapers (0.24 lbs per week), but they use fewer raw materials (25.30 lbs) than the total energy and water inputs required for reusables.
• Beyond environmental metrics, the analysis found that disposable diapers generally cause a lower average incidence of diaper rash than reusable diapers.
• Economically, disposable diapers were found to be cheaper for the consumer than reusables provided that home labor for washing is valued at the minimum wage or higher.

APA

World Resources Institute (1994). The Procter & Gamble Company: A Life-Cycle Analysis. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-167-5_full_version_english.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. The Procter & Gamble Company: A Life-Cycle Analysis. 1994. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-167-5_full_version_english.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=The Procter & Gamble Company: A Life-Cycle Analysis |date=1994 |url=https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-167-5_full_version_english.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute1994procter, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{The Procter \& Gamble Company: A Life-Cycle Analysis}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {1994}, url = {https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-167-5_full_version_english.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }