A short histoy of diapering in America

This is from TheGreenBabyGuide.com. I found it interesting....

Obviously, Native Americans were the first to deal with diapering on the continent and their solutions were environmentally ideal.  In warmer climates, babies went without pants and potty trained early while in colder climates Indigenous people used a disposable diaper that was fully biodegradable—and completely free.  They packed milkweed with peat moss or grasses, or sometimes filled animal skins with similar contents.  The result? A diaper that could be easily left behind to break down into the soil in just a few weeks.
In pioneer days, wet diapers weren’t washed. They were simply hung to dry in front of the fire.  Imagine cooking your family’s meal over the campfire and the mixed odors of stew, wood smoke and dried urine!
Cloth diapering continued for decades without many innovations until mothers started entering the work force in World War II.  Diaper services sprang up around the country to meet their needs. The invention of the washing machine in the early fifties also made cloth diapering far more convenient.
In 1950, Mrs. Hellerman, the owner of a diaper service, invented a pre-folded diaper with extra layers in the center.  The fold was sewn into the diaper and now we have our beloved  prefold diapers that are still popular today.
Marion Donovan, a housewife who was desperate for an easier diapering solution, invented the first disposable diaper in the late 1940’s.  She cut her shower curtain into envelopes into which she stuffed conventional cloth diapers and called them “Boaters.”  The cover closed with plastic snaps, eliminating the need for diaper pins.  No manufacturer would support her, so she sold her product directly to department stores.  Eventually she converted the design to thick absorbent paper and the disposable diaper was born. She later sold her company for one million dollars.
The sixties took disposable diapers into the mainstream, a movement which continued into the seventies as women continued to move into careers outside the home.
Just two decades ago, cloth started making a comeback as parents started to question the environmental impact of disposable diapers.  Plus, with innovative new features like Velcro and snap closures, pocket inserts, and various liners, cloth diapering became more convenient and appealing than ever before.  Other greener options such as hybrid diapers with disposable inserts and compostable disposables also hit the market.
Although disposables have only really been around for fifty years, many scientists believe that they’ll take up to 500 years to decompose.  That means that those first diapers invented by Marion Donovan won’t have broken down by the end of your great, great granchildren’s lives.  On a happier note, who knows what kind of crazy innovations we’ll have made in natural diapering by then.  Perhaps we’ll be using a newfangled product made of milkweed and stuffed with peat moss—and finding the best combination of convenience and conservation.