Clean and sustainable products are all the rage right now, especially when it comes to baby products. And for a good reason! Every parent wants to provide their child with the best and safest product, whether it’s toys, clothes, food, diapers …
Wait, diapers?
Absolutely! A diaper that is better for your baby, the environment, and your budget does exist!
Tell me more!
Cloth diapers are the original clean, sustainable choice when it comes to diapering, which is why they’ve been around for generations. Recently, Minnesota parents have been rediscovering these benefits thanks in part to the work of Minnesota Cloth Diaper Bank (MCDB) and their free cloth diaper loan program.
Cloth for all!
MCDB was founded in 2020 by sisters Danielle Claseman, who works in responsible sourcing, and Rachel DeVries, a pediatrician. Using cloth diapers on their own children, they wanted to help make cloth diapering accessible, affordable, and achievable for all Minnesota families.
“There are so many benefits to using cloth diapers – keeping disposable diapers out of landfills and chemicals off our babies’ bodies are some of the big ones,” says Claseman. “But with all of these benefits, we recognize that there are some financial and educational barriers to getting started. Our free cloth diaper loan program removes these barriers so families can try cloth risk-free.”
The MCDB free cloth diaper loan program loans families a “stash” of 20 cloth diapers and provides ongoing support and resources. Diapers can be swapped for different styles or replaced with larger sizes as the child grows. Most of the cloth diapers used in the program are gently used (and sanitized) and have been donated, further reducing the environmental impact. There is no cost to participate in the program (unless shipping costs are incurred), and anyone in Minnesota is welcome to apply – there is no income requirement!
What’s old is new again
It’s important to note that we’re not talking about your grandparents’ cloth diapers here. Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since the days of safety pins and hand washing! Improved technology and design have made cloth diapering much more achievable in today’s busy world. And there are options, options, options! Styles include pockets, pre-folds, and all-in-ones, with sizes ranging from newborn to toddler.
“A successful cloth diapering journey largely depends upon having the right cloth diaper size and style for your child,” explains Claseman. “With our free loan program, we’ll help you figure out which option might work best for you, or we can send you a couple of styles to try. At the end of the day, we want cloth diapering to work for you so that you’ll continue doing it!”
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rediaper
Approximately 20 billion disposable diapers are added to landfills nationwide each year – waste that won’t decompose for about 400 years. Yikes!
“The environmental implications of switching to cloth are huge,” says DeVries. “Our goal is to support families and divert as many single-use diapers from the landfill as possible.”
If you’re interested in learning more about cloth diapering, or want to sign up for MCDB’s free loan program, visit mnclothdiaperbank.org.
Amy Gulden is a Minnesota Cloth Diaper Bank board member and a cloth diapering mom of three.
