Diaper Service Article All Wet

We take some exception to the diaper service article published April 18 (“Diaper Services Folding”).

Your story was fodder for many radio talk shows, but for all the wrong reasons. By the end of the day, diaper services were dead, buried and long forgotten, all because of an unfortunate headline. We have served Northern California families for 42 years, and we clearly expect to be around for another 42 years!

What I do take issue with, however, is the glaring error in the cost comparison. Diaper for diaper, cloth diapers are far more economical. Families will spend about 30% less using cloth diapers during the diapering stage of baby. Yes, you can buy disposable diapers for $7, but that buys a pack of 20 or 24 diapers, not nearly enough to diaper one baby for an entire week. A baby needs a clean diaper at each soiling, not when it’s convenient for the caregiver.

Noticeably absent was the fact that under AB 939, California is under a mandate to reduce the solid-waste impact by 50% by 2000. This can only be accomplished by educating the public to reduce their consumption, and that includes so called single-use paper and plastic diapers.

California diaper services support the California economy, creating both employment and business opportunities. Most of the revenue from the sale of disposable diapers leaves California, ending up in the coffers of mega-giant corporations and other states. Wouldn’t it be more responsible to aid in boosting our own economy?

California reports about 600,000 births annually. Think of the possibilities if even 50% of that number of babies were diapered with reusable cloth diapers!

JOAN CHILDS

Director

Diaper Service Marketing Council

and Marketing Manager

Tidee Didee Diaper Service

Sacramento