The Top 10 Cloth Diaper Industry Events of 2010
Analysis and opinion by Jennifer L. Labit, owner of Cotton Babies, Inc. Creator of bumGenius, Flip & Econobum.
10. For several years, the cloth diaper market has been primarily work at home mom based. Throughout the year, a number of retailers and several manufacturers (including Thirsties) were sold to growth-minded investors. This is a continuing trend from 2009 perhaps showing that we are entering a new phase for the product category.
9. In late October, gDiapers entered the European market.
8. In early October, we launched the bumGenius Artist Series and featured local artist, Chelsea Perry with her Tiny Socialite Collection. A few months later, we also brought back the bright colors (Zinnia, Moonbeam, Clementine and Ribbit).
7. In June, Cotton Babies launched bumGenius 4.0 One-Size Cloth Diapers, bringing snap closures to the bumGenius pocket diapers for the first time.
6. Cloth diapers are moving from online to in-person. I can personally count six women in the cloth diaper industry who have opened local storefronts for their previously online-only businesses. Big moves were made by many of our retailers. Consumers are begging for cloth diapers on local store shelves. Next year will be telling as we look towards easier access to cloth diapering products for everyone.
5. In December, bumGenius turned five years old! It feels like an eternity. It also feels like I just blinked. Some of you have been on this journey with us since the very beginning. Can you believe that the very first bumGenius baby is in kindergarten and reading now? We also just announced that the small, medium and large sizes of our all-in-ones were being discontinued.
4. In July, cloth diapers were on the Today Show in New York City! Through email, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, we organized a successful campaign with only three days notice that merged social and traditional media... driving a strong turnout that was truly social media generated. Parents stripped their baby down to a diaper and stood in groups around the Today Show plaza with signs about cloth diapering. Many supportive messages were posted on the Today Show's Facebook wall from parents who weren't able to get there with us. Our message was heard! I met Ann Curry and parents were interviewed about cloth diapers. Stay tuned for another similar event this summer... we're in the planning stages now!
3. In September, the Real Diaper Industry Association entered it's third year as a trade association. I was the founding chair of the RDIA in 2009. After working with the original board of directors to get the organization established, I left my position to focus on Cotton Babies. Having spent this year on the outside looking in, it has been interesting to observe the development, organization and maturation of the association. RDIA made some pivotal choices this year, including a decision to continue excluding manufacturers of hybrid systems from membership. To enable our continued support of the association, Cotton Babies has joined within the retailer category of membership.
2. Also in October, the ABC Kids Expo 2010 had a large number of cloth diaper companies exhibiting, including 13 members of the Real Diaper Industry Association and several other companies including hybrid systems from gDiapers and Grovia. The show floor was buzzing about cloth diapers... a welcome change from our first years exhibiting at trade shows. As people came through our booth, it was interesting to watch the significant new faces that were turned towards the concept.
1. In November, Natali Morris, a reporter from CBS, made a very public, dramatic conversion to cloth diapers, pushed forward in part by Tereson Dupuy of Fuzzi Bunz. Her story has been played out on blogs, through video and on the CBS website. I was disappointed in the vicious way that the cloth diapering community lashed out at Natali, her job skills, and her parenting choices instead of focusing their criticism on her original report on CBS. Thankfully, Natali chose to rise to the challenge rather than attack the culture. After trying cloth diapers for 30 days, she became a cloth diapering mom herself. Go Natali!
Cotton Babies is pushing access to cloth diapers forward in 2011! Stay tuned for more details coming soon!
The book is full of beautiful photographs that compliment the recipes and would be a great gift for any mom-to-be, especially if she is interested in making her own baby food. Pair it with the Beaba Babycook Multiportions Tray and spoons to make a great gift to get the new family off to a great start.