The Great Cloth Diaper Change: For blister-free baby bottoms

The cartoon-painted hall in Apple Kids, Velachery buzzed with activity, echoing with the giggles and cries of children. Twenty-seven mothers along with their babies and husbands had come to be a part of ‘The Great Cloth Diaper Change’. The program organised by Bumpadum, a cloth diapers manufacturing company, is an initiative to bring the use of cloth diapers back into the mainstream and encourage more people to accept the eco-friendly way of diapering babies.

“During this event, parents all over the world , make a symbolic switch over to cloth diapers by actually diapering their babies in cloth at a set time and venue in an attempt to create a World Record of most number of parents switching to cloth diapers in one go!” says Seetha Gopalkrishnan, a representative of Bumpadum.

Cloth diapers, supposedly a thing of the past, are a trend now. Taking a modern approach, cloth diapers promote the three R’s for saving the environment: reduce, reuse and recycle. Many new-age mothers are now diapering their toddlers in cloth instead of the convenient disposable ones.

“Every year tons of disposable diapers make it to the landfills, rotting there for decades and adding on to the global garbage problem. Cloth diapers are not only eco-friendly but also a sustainable way of diapering the children,” Gopalkrishnan adds.

The Great Cloth Diaper Change: For blister-free baby bottoms

For Shirin Jayakumar, it was a lesson from her own experience that prompted her to make the switch. “When my daughter was eight months old, she suffered from labial adhesions and had to undergo surgery. It was then that the doctor advised me to switch to cloth diapers,” says Jayakumar. “I diapered my daughter till she was two-and-half years old. After the switch, I never had to bother about the recurring occurence of rashes and redness in the genital areas. Her behaviour made it evident that she was more comfortable in the cloth diapers,” she says.

Most of the mothers feel that it is economically viable as the cost incurred for cloth diaper is far less than the cost of disposable diapers.

“Almost 20 cloth diapers can be used for more than three years. This costs around ₹900 each. However, a pack of 30 disposable diapers that comes at a cost of ₹1000 will be used up in 15 days. Apart from the money spent can you imagine the amount of garbage this generates?” questions Abi Madhavan, a 28-year-old mother of two daughters.

However, switching to cloth diapers is not easy. Mothers who have, agree that it is a bumpy ride, to be embarked upon only if they are ready for the extra effort.

For Anjani Rajagopal, a 32-year-old entrepreneur, being a mother meant ordering cloth diapers from all across the world and trying to choose the perfect one for her three-month-old. “I spent days trying to find the perfect fit. Even after finding the perfect one there was a long road to go. There were leaks and issues with cleaning diapers. However, with time I have been able to overcome all these issues,” she says.

“The thing about disposables are that they are convenient and that is why people are inclined towards using them. But for cloth diapers one has to remove the potty off them and clean them before every use. However, the effort is worth it as you keep your child away from the chemicals in the disposable diapers, reduce the waste output and also save money. Apart from this, when your baby outgrows these cloth diapers, they can be resold,” concludes Madhavan.