Dirty diapers lying on the roadside or in parking spaces represent a low point in civilization. We’ve all seen them, discolored and bloated, spilling their strange, absorbent chemical guts and their biohazardous payloads.

I see these and extrapolate by the 8,000 diapers an average American baby uses up (per estimates from the EPA). I imagine this multiplied by the four million babies the CDC estimates will be born in America this year. Beneath the crust of our landfills, there’s a hideous, stinking mass of off-white, globulous goo, leaked from the seams of the tens of billions of disposable diapers deposited there each year.

There’s this delightful shop in Oklahoma City though, a breath of fresh air called Green Bambino at 5120 N Shartel Ave. It caters to parents who are as freaked out by disposable diapers as I.

Bambino prides itself on being simple, affordable and responsible. They sell reusable, cloth diapers free of chlorine and other things generally found in disposables that can irritate a baby’s skin and keep them in a perpetual state of diaper rash.

Green Bambino has continuously increased their number of brands so the unique needs of any baby and parent can be met. They also sell detergents designed specifically for cloth diapers.

The Bambino sells “wet bags,” a storage solution for dirty diapers and even a special attachment for your toilet, like a sprayer, for hosing out diapers over the commode.

They sell clothes, bath products, bottles, toys, baby carriers and mother’s milk teas. They carry products designed with the health and well being of your baby and your environment in mind.

For non-tree-hugging parents, know that you will spend roughly $3,000 to $4,000 diapering your baby in disposables. I put two babies through less than $500 worth of cloth diapers and products from the Green Bambino. So hug on that.

The staff at Green Bambino is amazingly friendly and knowledgable. They offer a customer loyalty program. They even buy back the cloth diapers that haven’t seen too much action.

Often they host classes about the techniques and benefits of breastfeeding, babywearing and cloth diaper use. A schedule of their events is available on their site at www.green-bambino.com/events/.

Rating: A+