REAL DIAPER ASSOCIATION NEWS: Volume 4,  29 SEPT 2004

What's new from the Real Diaper Association.

Gift Memberships.  Do you have a friend who is not able to join RDA at this time?  Give him or her a gift membership!  You can purchase any level of membership here and they will be sent a gift certificate confirmation code.  It is a wonderful way to support real diapers and be a great friend! 

Forums.  Are you wondering if other people in your town have joined RDA? Curious if there is a Circle Leader near you? Come to the RDA forums to find out. We have forums for every state and province—find members near you!

Diaper News

A Message from Sustainable Wales.  Some recent nappy news regarding American imports to the UK is a disturbing turn of events and further emphasizes that we are losing our common sense across the globe - that or it has a price.  This strengthens our resolve that the RDA model of Real Diaper Circles will be the answer on a global level: changing one person, one community, one city, one state, one province, one region, one country at a time.

"The laundry service, Gentle Touch ... just called to say that taxes on imports are increasing from America (Something to do with an EU and North American trade dispute?)  This means that tax on things like real nappies will increase from its current 12% to 29% by March 2005, whilst - wait for it - disposables remain at 0%!"

RDA organizers are concerned with this tax and what it will mean for real diaper users in the UK and real diaper businesses in North America.

RDA has several Volunteer Opportunities.  Please read here and lend your expertise! RDA is planting seeds to help other countries begin their own Real Diaper Association. Go here to read more. Join RDA and help us create the cultural shift towards the use of REAL DIAPERS!

Disposable Business  An article that appeared in the Minnesota Star Tribune a few weeks ago caught our attention.  It was about the declining use of diaper delivery services.  Fifty years ago, the article states, there were 8 diaper service companies in the Twin Cities area.  Now, there are only two services in the entire state of Minnesota.  The declining demand for cloth diapers has caused real economic hardship on many of these family-run diaper service businesses.  In the last few years, some of them have gone out of business after more than 50 years of service. Despite a brief increase in cloth diaper demand in the late eighties, diaper services across the country have become a thing of the past, going out of business at a steady rate since the early nineties.  At that time, several misleading studies put out by Proctor & Gamble led the public to believe there was no difference between cloth and disposables in terms of environmental impact.  Combined with powerful advertising, these studies caused a huge reversal in environmental awareness among the American public.  People started to believe their choices didn't matter, that if a family chose cloth, they would still be wasting water and gasoline (for the diaper services to deliver their diapers).  Of course, other studies put out at that time, most significantly being the Landmark Consultancy Report published by Women's Environmental Network in England, showed that disposable diapers were more wasteful across all factors, including water usage and non-renewable resources.  For more environmental facts, check out our Diaper Facts page.

We will be doing more investigation into the diaper service dilemma.  Look for future articles in our quarterly print newsletter.  Real Diaper Association wholeheartedly supports diaper services.  We hope by advocating and encouraging more people to use cloth, the demand for delivery services will increase.

To read the Minnesota Star Tribune article go to: http://www.startribuen.com/stories/535/4952363.html

What can you do?

How can you help?  The Real Diaper Association has several Volunteer Opportunities that need to be filled.  Specifically at this time we are in need of a Print Media Designer with Professional Print Experience as well as a Webmaster with experience in HTML, CSS and PHP.  Please go here to read more about the skills required.

Volunteers at every level.  Everyone involved in RDA, from the Founders to the Diaper Circle Leaders, work on a volunteer basis.  We believe in the vision and hold strong to the cause that is cloth diapering advocacy.  Please consider whether you have skills that could benefit RDA.  If not you, perhaps you know someone; a friend, a neighbor, a family member?  Get us in contact with them - or them with us.  The collective effort of a few can make the difference to many.

Advocates and Activists for Cloth Diapers.  One of our favorite advocacy statements here at Real Diaper Association is that we as parents have the power to change the world one baby at a time.  Will you do it with us?  Will you be a part?  The Real Diaper Association is accepting applications for Real Diaper Circle Leaders daily.  Soon their training will begin and the RDA mission will unfold through the actions of the Real Diaper Circle Leaders.  They will reach out within their communities, meet diaper users face-to-face, and arm them with the knowledge and tools to make cloth diapering both accessible and acceptable.

We do not just want others to know of cloth diapers ... we want them to know how easy they are to use, the benefits of cloth, the lesser footprint they make and where to find them to purchase.  Join us in our efforts!

The Real Diaper Association is organized so that we can help our Circles and our members.  We are here for you.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@realdiaperassociation.org.

Thank you for supporting the Real Diaper Association!