Dear Friends--The New York Times today ran the following article/interview on reusable diapers. Still loads of oil and energy, but possibly an alternative to disposable diapers. Population control is an even better alternative. Tom
********* Forwarded from the GreenYes Mailing List *********************** >January 12, 2008 > >Saturday Interview > > >Breaking the Habit of Disposable Diapers > > > >By ><http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/claudia_h_deutsch/index.html?inline=nyt-per>CLAUDIA > >H. DEUTSCH > >TERESON DUPUY thinks reusable diapers are having their back-to-the-future >moment. > >Sure, she knows that lots of parents (indeed, most of them) would rather >toss dirty nappies than wash them. But she says that the convergence of >four disparate elements Internet chat rooms for new mothers, easy ways to >sell on the Web, the green movement and the development of better >polyesters is spurring many parents to rethink their attachment to >disposables. > >There are signs she may be right. In 1999, Ms. Dupuy, 37, started Mother >of Eden, a company that sells reusable polyester diapers called Fuzzi >Bunz. She does not advertise and does not have a sales staff. Yet her >company topped $3 million in sales in 2007, and she expects to sell double >that amount this year. > >The Internet and environmental concerns have been a bonus,Ms. Dupuy said. >But even without them, reusable diapers would be meeting a real need. > >In a recent conversation, Ms. Dupuy elaborated on why cloth diapers may be >a product whose time has come again. Excerpts from the interview follow: > >Q. Have cloth diapers really evolved much from the bulky, leaky things >with pins that many of us remember as so unpleasant? > >A. Thereve been lots of small changes, but the key difference is the >textiles. Cotton is very absorbent, but its hard to wash, it stains and it >can take forever to dry. Many of todays reusable diapers use polyester >fleece, which lasts longer, absorbs better and dries in 10 minutes. And >they are thin enough to fit under normal baby clothes. Thats no small >thing clothes today are made to fit over a disposable diaper, not a bulky, >multilayered cotton one. > >Q. Disposables still seem more convenient. Why would anyone go back to cloth? > >A. Lots of reasons. I used disposables with my first child, and we were >only getting garbage pickups once a week. They literally stank. And my >second child had severe eczema, and no matter what cream I tried, or how >often I changed the diaper, his bottom was raw and bleeding. > >Q. Ive never heard of a reusable diaper curing eczema. Did that really help? > >A. I switched to cotton diapers, and it got better, but he still got >rashes from the wetness near his skin. Thats when I had my light bulb >moment: I bought a square of fleece, the kind that Patagonia uses in >jackets and underwear. I stuck that in my sons diaper, and his skin stayed >dry. So I decided to sell fleece diapers with pockets for inserts. I named >the company Mother of Eden because my sons name is Eden, and I am, after >all, his mother. > >Q. Patagonia uses fleece made from recycled plastics, which are, of >course, petrochemicals. Should people feel comfortable putting chemicals >so close to a baby? > >A. Not everyone does, I know. Some people will only use diapers made of >organic cotton. But those diapers are awfully expensive, and they have the >same problems as conventional cotton. I trust Patagonia they wouldnt use >it in underwear if it werent safe. > >Q. It takes a lot of energy to make polyester, and it uses a lot of water >to wash diapers. And if people use diaper services, you have to factor in >the fuel used by their trucks. Arent you running counter to the greentrend? > >A. Quite the contrary. If you ask people what cloth diaperbrings to mind, >they mention bleach, soaking, washing, lots of hard work. But use the term >reusable diaper,and the first thing they say is good for the environment. > >Now, it is definitely better for the environment to produce organic cotton >than polyester, I cant argue with that. But polyester diapers last five >times longer, so you dont have to replace them as often. If you check the >chat rooms on the Internet, most of the cloth-using moms are washing them >at home. If you have a baby in the house, youre doing a lot of laundry >anyway. And a lot of trees probably get cut down to make disposables. > >Q. Still, polyester isnt biodegradable. Doesnt that pose an environmental >disposal problem after the baby is toilet-trained? > >A. Were trying to find a supplier who can recycle our fibers. Well take >diapers back from people, and donate them to orphanages, primarily >overseas. We are also using our manufacturing scraps to make cloth baby >wipes, breast pads for nursing moms and menstrual pads. They represent >only 2 or 3 percent of our sales but they use up all our waste. > >Q. How can reusable diapers compete with marketing titans like ><http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/procter_and_gamble/index.html?inline=nyt-org>Procter > >& Gamble or ><http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/kimberly_clark_corporation/index.html?inline=nyt-org>Kimberly-Clark, > >which lead the disposable diaper market? > >A. Products like ours wouldnt exist without the Internet. People do ><http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/google_inc/index.html?inline=nyt-org>Google > >searches to find cloth diapers. We distribute mainly through a network of >300 or so stay-at-home moms who found us on the Web, and who sell on the >Web. We have 150 more on the waiting list; we just dont have enough >product to supply them yet. Hopefully, this year we will. > >And the Internet has enabled lots of working moms people like me to work >from home. That means they are there to change the babys diaper. A mom or >even a dad is more willing to wash out dirty diapers than your typical day >care worker. > >Kendall Christiansen >Gaia Strategies >151 Maple Street >Brooklyn, NY 11225 >o: 718.941.9535; cell: 917.359.0725 Tom Shelley 118 E. Court St. Ithaca, NY 14850 607 342-0864 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.myspace.com/99319958 P I thank you for printing this e-mail only if it is necessary "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." The World Commission on Environment and Development, Gro Harlem Brundtland Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, 1987 MY NOTE: Sustainable development does not mean "sustainable growth" as growth per se is not sustainable. And the term "sustainable" has to mean "for a very long time" (A. Bartlett). "The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives." Sioux proverb _______________________________________________ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
