The future of Cloth, Part III of ? Types and sizing

Nov 25,2010 / By Maria / 2 Comments

>This is part 3 of my ramblings on the future of cloth. See Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them!

As modern cloth evolves, I expect to see more “hybrid” diapers like the Amp Duo Diaper and the Softbums Omni. Diapers that allow you to use them as a pocket diaper, all-in-two, or a cover with prefolds. So you don’t necessarily have to choose and invest in just one type. We’ve already seen a pretty big boom with the hybrid/all-in two styles with wipe-able shells like the Best Bottom Diapering System, the Flip and others.

I also hope/expect to see even more insert options, more natural fibers, trim inserts, perhaps combined with a soft, wicking fabric on top, like microfleece. I think if there were even more disposable/flushable/compostable inserts available, it would help people test the waters with cloth, and realize that washing the inserts really isn’t a big leap!

One-size diapers have gained enormous popularity in the past few years. When I researched cloth in 2004 for my daughter, I don’t recall seeing any pocket diapers with the “snap down” rise one-size feature that is so common today. Bumgenius was founded in late 2005, but I don’t know who was the first to do this style. I believe the “one size” fold down rise that’s common on fitted diapers today, was introduced by Mother-Ease.

While they are great, in the future I see more companies considering a two-size system like the Thirsties Duo Diaper. I didn’t start cloth diapering my son until he was about 14 pounds at 4 months old, so I don’t have experience cloth diapering a newborn. Many “one size” diapers claim to fit starting at 6 or 8 pounds, but I hear many say they didn’t fit well until about 10 pounds, and I don’t at all doubt that is truth. This means that most people will need to purchase newborn/extra-small diapers, unless they plan to use disposables in the beginning.

On the other end of the spectrum, Moms with larger babies or late potty trainers (learners) say the “one-size” diapers didn’t fit through potty training. Not only that, but you can’t necessarily expect a diaper that’s been in constant use for 2 1/2-3 years, to last through another child.

The two size diapers seem to be the perfect compromise between sized and one-size diapers. No need to buy newborn, one-size and extra-large, or newborn, small, medium etc. Two sizes truly cover the range from newborn to potty training. it seems like such an ingenious idea to me, I’m surprised more companies haven’t caught on. I am still hoping that Bumgenius will come out with a mini-one size pocket diaper!

I think I’m going to stop here since I’m trying not to make these posts tl;dr worthy (too long, didn’t read!) I have more on my mind about the future of cloth, so stay tuned!

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Rockin Green Funk Rock & Mighty Mighty Marshmallow Classic Rock Review & Giveaway (CLOSED 11/30)

Nov 24,2010 / By Maria / 10 Comments

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In my opinion, wash routine and detergent are the biggest hurdle in cloth diapering. My personal motto is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” If you have a detergent and wash routine that are working for you, stick with it. After trying many different detergents, I’ve been using Tide powder, with an extra rinse and an occasional bleaching.

So why am I messing with it? I was sucked in by the new Rockin’ Green Funk Rock Ammonia Bouncer, thinking that maybe by using it, I could eliminate the monthly/semi-monthly bleaching. I decided to also buy a bag of the mighty mighty marshmallow classic rock detergent to use along with it. Lucky for you, I bought an extra bag of each to give away to a reader!

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A Merry Fluffy Christmas Giveaways

A Merry Fluffy Christmas Event!

Nov 24,2010 / By Maria / 3 Comments

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I wanted to give everyone a heads up on the “Merry Fluffy Christmas” event that starts December 1st. If you missed this so far, I am participating in an event (organized by And Then There Were 4) where each blog will be hosting a prize pack of cloth diaper related products valued at $25 or more, every day from December 1st-5th!

These giveaways will be a little bit different than you’re used to. Each giveaway will be up for just three days (the first giveaway opens at 12:01 A.M. on the 1st and ends at 11:59 P.M. on the 3rd), and the winners will be announced by December 10th. I will still be using the form entry for these giveaways, but I really don’t want to sit up until midnight for 5 nights to close the form to new responses. The same is true for any participating blogs that are using comment entry, you can’t schedule comments to close. This means you’ll have to really watch the closing times, since I won’t be able to officially “close” them until the next morning.

Also, several prize packages have more than one sponsor, so you will see a few more entry methods than you’re used to. They should still be very simple though. At the bottom of each post, there should be a linky for you to easily visit the next participating blog, then hope to more blogs and enter more giveaways for that day! Each blog has their own entry methods, so do read carefully.

Prize Pack 1: Closed 12/3

Katydid Cloth Pocket Diaper, winner’s choice of color, $25 EcoMom gift certificate, Mini Diaper Keychain and Cloth Diaper Advocacy Button. Combined ARV $49.95

Prize Pack 2: Closed 12/4
Two Thirsties Size 2 Duo Wraps, Two Thirsties Size 2 Hemp Prefolds and Kim’s Kloth Holiday Edition Embroidered Minky One-Size Pocket Diaper. Combined ARV $59.98

Prize Pack 3: Closed 12/5
Cuties With Cloth Booties Congo Collaboration

Prize Pack 4: Closed 12/6
Babykicks: 2 prefolds (winner’s choice of size), 1 Premium Joey Bunz (winner’s choice of size), 3 Washies and 1 premium washie.
Plump: Knit Christmas AI2. Combined ARV approximately $50 (varies based on size chosen for Babykicks)

Prize Pack 5: Closed 12/7
Designs by Cace: any in-stock diaper
Also: gDiapers size medium gPant 2 pack, 32 pack of biodegradable gDiapers refills, 10-pack Babykicks wipes and a Babykicks Organic Fitted diaper. These items are sponsored by CSN but all items are in my hands, ready to ship. Not a gift certificate or gift card. Combined ARV at least $98.43 (more depending on item chosen from Designs by Cace!)

I hope to have all winners chosen and notified on December 8th. All blogs will have winners announced by December 10th!

Sponsors:

Kim’s Kloth

Here’s a list of all of the participating blogs so far! Note: You have to contact the organizer if you want to join in, this linky is just a way to easily show the participants, please do not add to it, thanks!!

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Cloth Diapering

The future of Cloth, Part II of ? Cloth in Big Box Stores

Nov 23,2010 / By Maria / 7 Comments

This post is a continuation of my ramblings on the future of cloth diapering. Check out The Future of Cloth Part I if you missed it.

My big hope for cloth is that it will become more widespread, more accepted, and more commonplace. I think there are a lot of things that can help that happen, but the first would be to make cloth more readily available.

I do not have a cloth diaper store nearby, and I’ve never gotten to see a diaper before buying it. That’s part of the reason why I take so many photos for my reviews, I’ve been surprised by items when I got them sometimes.

I noticed that online, Target sells Grandma El’s products and also a few cloth diapers. I’ve seen Kushies at Wal-Mart online, Buy Buy Baby has a couple of cloth diapers, and my local Organic Market sells gDiapers. Other than the gDiapers, the only “cloth” I’ve seen in a store near me is the Gerber prefolds people use as burp cloths.

So, what if Target sold cloth diapers? What if they could be added to baby registries along with all the other necessities? It sure would be great to see “Bumgenius 4.0 pocket diaper – Zinnia – Aisle A14” in black & white on a baby registry! Not only would it get modern cloth in front of more mommy-to-be eyballs, but also the eyes of Grandparents, Aunts and friends. I’d love for the choice of cloth to be as common as Huggies vs. Pampers.

I just don’t think it would work. Stores don’t have the space for the huge selection that online cloth diaper retailers have. Even if they carried just one or two brands, I don’t know if the demand would be high enough to justify keeping them in stock.

The other big problem is support. If you call or email any one of my favorite online CD stores, you will be connected most likely to someone who has cloth diapered her own babies, knows the inventory inside and out, and can help you understand the differences between diapers. They can help you choose the right brands and styles to start with, and help you troubleshoot, suggest detergents, diaper creams and help with wash routines. Sure, I guess “big box” stores could put a few employees through a crash course in cloth diapering, but sometimes you need experience behind the advice. From my own experience, cloth diapering can be overwhelming and frustrating at first, and you really need information and support to keep you from giving up.

So, in my dream world, there would be a successful brick and mortar cloth diaper store in the busiest shopping center of every town. They would partner with hospitals to do cloth demos at new parenting classes, maybe host La Leche League meetings or baby wearing classes in their stores also. Everyone would know about the cloth diaper store, and it would be the place to go for diapers, slings/wraps/carriers and safe toys. Lots of online cloth diaper stores offer baby registries, but many people I know would be far more likely to shop at a local store than to order a gift online.

So should cloth diapers be in big box stores? What do you think? What do you think we can do to make cloth diapering more “oohh” and less “ewww” to others?

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