Each year there are more than 4 million babies born in the US. On our Cloth Diaper FAQ, it was estimated that each child would remain in diapers for an average of two and a half years – using 5,600 diapers, which would average out to little more than 6 diapers a day.
Based on the estimated US sales of disposable diapers and the figures above – 4 million babies will use 22.4 billion diapers, costing $12 billion dollars and resulting in more than 2.5 billion tons of untreated fecal matter, urine, plastic and wood pulp being thrown into landfills in the 2.5 years that they are in diapers.
So what if everyone chose cloth? In the FAQ it was estimated that a family could save $2350 by choosing cloth, and that allowed for some fancy diapers. Choosing a simpler option like prefold diapers would grow that number by about four-hundred dollars. If every child born in a year was cloth diapered from birth to potty training, US families would spend just 2.6 billion dollars resulting in a savings of 9.4 billion dollars.
When you look at these figures it’s easy to see the impact that using cloth can make and that’s why I want to act now to be part of the cloth diaper revolution that is going on. I want to spread awareness and teach people that cloth is not something to turn your nose up to because it reminds you of when your grandmother use to tie kitchen towels around a baby’s bottom and slap on some rubber pants. Cloth diapers have come a long way and there is only room to grow.
In addition to the blog, I have decided to start offering cloth diapering workshops in my area. My initial goal is to offer these workshops at least four times a year, and to be available in my home for those who have scheduling needs. I am working on building a stash of new diapers for demonstration purposes. If you are a company or shop interested in helping, there are incentives for you, please email me.
There are hungry minds everywhere and so many families could benefit from the knowledge and use of cloth diapers. I challenge you to do the same. Use the diapers you have to show people. Put up a flyer at your local grocery store or post office – post it on a local parenting board or mention it at a mom’s meeting. Try to set a date once, twice a year or more that you can leave open to anyone willing to listen. Start simple, in your home or on the playground. You will make a difference, I can promise you that!
You can also start by joining some of the great movements going on now, like Change 3 Things (C3T) – The Cloth Diaper Revolution where they are asking families to change at least three diapers a day using cloth. If you already use cloth, join up and consider buying one of these great advocacy shirts for $5 to get the conversation started and encourage a non-cloth family to give it a shot.
Join The Great Cloth Diaper Change, The Cloth Diaper Revolution and show your support by ‘liking’ The Real Diaper Industry Association and The Real Diaper Association, as well as all of your favorite cloth diaper companies and retailers. If you’d like to see lots all in one place, head over to our facebook page and view our ‘likes’, you’ll find lots of great companies – if you know of others, please feel free to recommend them!
Good luck to all of you that are joining us. I can’t wait to see where this goes and I’ll be sure to update you as progress is made on my end.
