This is an opinion piece. My opinion.
How long have we been using #makeclothmainstream? How many have said, “I wish there was a store that carried cloth diapers near me”? How many businesses have lamented about how hard it is to find new customers as their current ones age out of diapers?
The obvious solution seems to be that we need more exposure for cloth diapers. More realizing the benefits that many of us already love. Simply more using them.
I feel like the industry sort of fights over the same pieces of the pie now. The truth is the pie is much, much bigger. As big as all of the babies that are being born.
How do we access all of those families?
Is it more advertising? Is it getting more cloth diaper brands into physical locations like Walmart and Target?
How about helping cloth diaper businesses get discounts on things like insurance and supplies? Or training on marketing, inventory control, or even how to find reputable suppliers to work with?
Have you seen places that offer incentives for using cloth diapers? There are vouchers to help families cover the cost of getting started. Cashback for using cloth diapers instead of disposables. Honestly though, it’s such a small handful of localities doing it.
How do we make it happen on a much larger scale? I personally feel that educating and lobbying local and federal governments is the way. How does that happen?
With a Cloth Diaper Industry Association.
If you are a business owner in the cloth diaper community I highly encourage you to think beyond what you’ve always done. Focus on how we can all improve. How we can all grow. How we can all be successful beyond our wildest dreams. I know it can happen.
If you are a person who uses cloth diapers on your baby I encourage you to reach out to your favorite brands and tell them you saw this. Tell them you’d love to see them check this out.
Bailey from the Cloth Diaper Podcast is the force behind this wonderful idea. She has already created a Cloth Diaper Network that has been bringing influencers, educators and businesses together. The next step in the plan is the Cloth Diaper Industry Association.
She is hosting a Cloth Diaper Industry Holiday Social. No work talk beyond a few minutes about the new association. It’s casual. And fun. Wear your jammies, favorite ugly Christmas sweater or a ball gown. It doesn’t matter. Just show up. Listen, lurk, or chat to your heart’s content! And there are door prizes! I’ve even sponsored $100 cash!
Our hope is for the industry members to make connections and meet new people. New ways to spread the word about your products. New friends that can help you make your business dreams come true.
Spread the word. Tell the brands you love they should attend.
Register for the Cloth Diaper Industry Holiday Social HERE.
Jenn is a long-time cloth diaper educator and a passionate small business advocate. She has worked in the reusable diaper industry for over a decade, helping millions of families via her websites All About Cloth Diapers, Thinking About Cloth Diapers and Cloth Diaper Geek as well as hundreds of small businesses during that time. Her goal always to provide simple, reliable information.
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