Does Brand Matter?

ehmhunt

So, my mom is really into finding bargains on used stuff and was able to get me 16 cloth diapers in good condition (all pocket style) from leading brands. From what I've heard, this is about half of what I'd need for a good stash for a newborn. Looking online, some of the leading brands can be 20-30 dollars per diaper! Is there really that big a difference in terms of quality? If not, I'm planning to just buy a bunch from aliexpress.

Other than just saving money, I'm a bit on the fence on whether to do cloth diapering. I'd researched it before, but the cloth diaper gift was a bit of a surprise! If we just do cloth diapers half the time (use our current stash), will that give a good sense of whether cloth diapering will "work" for us? Or do you think you really need to be doing it full time to get the full benefits and understand how it will work for you? If the 20-30 dollar diapers are really worth it, I'd like to put off buying more diapers until we know for sure that CD are for us.

Thoughts? Advice? Thanks!

lovesclimbing

This will depend on who you ask. There are people who are very pro name brands and say "China cheapies," which are cheaper brands made in China, are terrible. Then there are people who say china cheapies work just fine. 

I can't help because I only use fitteds I made myself, Gerber prefolds, and Thirsties Duos covers. Thirsties is a name brand, and I've never used anything else. 

I think you definitely can CD part time and see how it works for you. I would try to use all your CDs and then switch to disposables as opposed to mixing it up throughout the day, because I think you'll get a better idea of how it works. Also, you could do a daily wash rather than every other day or every third day. That might be enough diapers to do that for a bit to get an idea of how it will go for you. 

ehmhunt

lovesclimbing said:

I would try to use all your CDs and then switch to disposables as opposed to mixing it up throughout the day, because I think you'll get a better idea of how it works.

Really like this idea. Wouldn't have thought of trying to do one whole day 100% cd or disposables. Thanks! ^_^

lifeislove87

If you are looking for inexpensive diapers try joining a diaper co op (look up sandy tush or crunchy mammas on Facebook) they let you get diapers for cheaper. Happy beehinds, Alva and elf diapers are the way to go for cheaper “brand name diapers with lots of people preferring Alva (look at Alvababy.com). Be careful ordering from Wish or Ali express as you can get some bad quality diapers that won’t last

von1976

Plenty of people make it work with China cheapies. I had heard bad things about them so I stuck to major brands... But even some of those are made in China (albeit regulated, but still). I think the biggest issues with the cheap ones come with quality (snaps, elastics, PUL, life of diaper), and cut/size consistency. The other issue people have is that the inserts are basically junk and don't hold much. You may do better to buy FST/flats/prefolds or other branded inserts for absorbency... which is an additional cost.

If you can make the cheap ones work for you, and don't mind replacing them multiple times in your diapering journey when elastics relax, PUL fails, or snaps break... or if you don't mind spending extra money buying other inserts to make them work, then it makes sense.

But $20-30 a diaper is not all that much.
$20-30x24=$480-720 to diaper one baby for 2 years. Washing is somewhat negligible. Maybe $50/year. So $580-820 total.

A pack of disposables is $20 a week. $20x52x2=$2,080 for your disposable diaper journey.

Cheapies? Might need to be replaced every year or even more often, plus the cost of inserts...
$6x24x3(avg replacement ~9 months)=$432
Inserts/boosters $3x24=$72
Plus $100 washing over 2 years... $604 So you're not saving all that much.

Of course, cloth diapers are addicting. I'm certain I've spent more than $2k on diapers. But you don't have to. And you can reuse them for subsequent babies... Especially if you buy quality brands.

If you want cheap quality diapers, join one of the hundreds of cloth BST groups on Facebook. But be careful what you buy and asks for lots of pictures. Some people try to resell cheapies for more than they cost new, billing them as branded diapers.

megmac2010

I’m building my stash now (pregnant with first baby) and I’ve decided to go with applecheeks. I’m canadian and I like the idea of using a product made in Canada. And they seem to hold their value. I’ve bought all used so far and, when cared for, they seem brand new. The other brands I’ve picked up seem to have more stains, more stretched out elastics, and don’t wash up as well. 

Hopefully the babe likes them as much as I do!