Internet Spurs Cloth Diaper Comeback
Cloth diapers used to disgust Faye Butler.
“My impression of cloth diapers was always a faint memory of plain white flat cotton cloths and hot vinyl Gerber pants,” Butler said. “And that you were supposed to dunk a cloth diaper in the toilet. Who wants to do that?”
Three children later, the Rincon mother shops online for a vast variety of cloth diapers, from pre-folds to pockets, for her 7-week-old daughter, Josephine.
Butler’s hooked on what she calls state-of-the-art cloth diapers, which no longer involve pins, cumbersome fits nor lots of toilet dunking.
The environmental and health benefits got Butler started on cloth when her middle son, Jackson, was a year old.
Cost benefits and the feel of cuddling her baby in fluffy cotton were added perks.
Cloth diapers are making a comeback, fueled largely by Internet-savvy mompreneurs who’ve launched Web boutiques selling the brands that have cutesy names like Fuzzi Bunz, Baby BeeHinds and Thirsties Fab Fitted.
Ryan Sherwood, an at-home mom in Charleston, S.C., started the online cloth diaper boutique PalmettoDiaperWorks.com, in October 2006 as a supplement to her husband’s income.
Sales almost doubled every month as popularity of cloth diapers increased.
This past June, the most recent month that figures were available, was their best month yet, $6,000 in orders nationwide.
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