Your Next Diaper Order Has Arrived- A Mother's Day Card

I was wondering what I could post for a unique Mother's Day post but quite honestly was stumped. First and foremost, Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

I usually hand-stamp cards but this year I waited until the last minute and because we have been so busy here at DiaperShops I just didn't have time. A couple of days ago I left the shop mid-morning and ventured over to our local Walgreens to get a card. In the process of pulling and putting back numerous cards I pulled one out that had a big shipping vessel with cargo on it.

The front said, "Happy Mother's Day" (of course)...I opened the card and it said "Your next diaper order has arrived." Wow- now isn't that fitting for Kelly- aka, The Cloth Diaper Whisperer to find. It made me chuckle and laugh to know that there are so many of us that have discovered cloth diapers, hybrid diapers, or eco-friendly diapers.

Did you know..

1) Over 20 billion disposable diapers are sent to landfills each year. (http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/k12/apr04/index.html)

2) That the average baby goes thru a minimum of 6000 diaper changes.(http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2064133/cloth_diapers_vs_disposable_diapers.html?cat=25)

3) Disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent about 4% of solid waste. In a house with a child in diapers, disposables make up 50% of household waste. (Link, Ann. Disposable nappies: a case study in waste prevention. April 2003. Women's Environmental Network)

4) Over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby EACH YEAR.
(Lehrburger, C., J. Mullen and C.V. Jones. 1991. Diapers: Environmental Impacts and Lifecycle Analysis. Philadelphia, PA: Report to The National Association of Diaper Services (NADS).)

5) No one knows how long it takes for a disposable diaper to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years, long after your children, grandchildren and great, great, great grandchildren will be gone.
(Link, Ann. Disposable nappies: a case study in waste prevention. April 2003. Women's Environmental Network.)

[Some of the facts above were found at the Real Diaper Association's website.]
The Real Diaper Association, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, provides support and education to parents all across the U.S. for the use of simple, reusable cloth diapers. The goal of the Real Diaper Association is to put more U.S. babies in cloth diapers. To do this we aim to create a cultural shift in understanding cloth diapers-their environmental impact, their ease of use, their accessibility, and their acceptability. The Association will help parents understand that cloth diapers are real diapers.

The awareness of "alternative" diapering options has increased greatly over the past 2 years and honestly I think this is because of the green movement and the state of the economy. It will be great to someday convert some of the 95% of parents who use main-stream disposable diapers to more eco-friendly diapering options.

Happy Mother's Day everyone and just know that by using cloth diapers or other eco-friendly diapers you truly are making a difference to "Mother Earth"- one diaper at a time.

By: Kelly, aka "The Cloth Diaper Whisperer"