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Cloth Diapering
Article Re: Sposies and the Economy
I have been MIA the last few days for work meetings, but I saw this article today...Was this discussed here? Thoughts?
Diaper sales down, rashes up in tough economy
The Wall Street Journal
6:33 AM CDT, October 4, 2011
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The tight U.S. economy has turned even essential goods into luxuries. Now consumer-goods companies are seeing something they thought would never come to pass: Parents are buying fewer diapers.
Spending on children has traditionally held steady in times of recession, including the most recent one, with parents sacrificing other items rather than scrimping on their children's hygiene or happiness.
But as the economy continues to sputter, recent data show diaper sales are slowing and sales of diaper-rash ointment are rising.
The volume of diapers sold in the U.S. slipped 1 percent in the four weeks ended Sept. 4 from a year earlier, extending a string of similar or steeper declines stretching back to August 2010, according to Consumer Edge Research, whose retail-sales tracking doesn't include Costco Wholesale Corp. or Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Dollar sales fell nearly 3 percent, indicating parents are both cutting back and trading down to cheaper private labels.
Dollar sales of diapers in the four weeks fell 4 percent at Huggies maker Kimberly-Clark Corp. Procter & Gamble, maker of Pampers and Luvs, saw dollar sales drop 2.5 percent. Even generics were down, with sales of private-label diapers slipping 0.5 percent.
Consumer Edge Research analyst Javier Escalante says "this has never happened in this country before -- this is a very rare circumstance," and adds that the fact that people are having fewer babies is itself a strong indicator that the economy is influencing parental behavior. "That's a huge decision," says Escalante.
Meantime, sales of diaper-rash ointment have increased 8% over the past year, according to market-research firm SymphonyIRI.
Analysts and pediatricians say the higher sales likely reflect either less frequent changes or a shift to lower quality diapers.
Most pediatric clinics don't keep statistics on benign conditions like diaper rash, but doctors in poorer areas say they see the long-stumbling economy starting to take a clear toll on children's health.
Anjali Rao, a pediatrician at Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group in Chicago, says she has seen a 5 percent to 10 percent spike in diaper-rash cases this year. Daniel Taylor, a pediatrician at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, says he and his colleagues have heard from a growing number of parents that they must choose between buying diapers and paying for food and heat.
"We're definitely seeing major effects of the economy: Diapers are very expensive, and the longer you sit in a dirty diaper, the more likely the chances of an infection," Dr. Taylor says.
Diapering a child six times a day costs about $1,500 a year, according to P&G, so it isn't hard to see how it could become a burden on families dealing with chronic unemployment or struggling to cover rising costs.
Still, there are reasons to approach the data cautiously. The U.S. birth rate has declined since 2007, and it isn't clear how much of the drop in diaper buying is due to penny pinching and how much results from fewer kids. Changing technology -- more absorbent diapers, for example -- also make comparisons difficult. Finally, the cohort being surveyed is always changing because parents buy diapers for a few years and then move on.
P&G Vice Chairman Dimitri Panayotopoulos, a father of seven, noted at a conference earlier this year that the new "wetness indicator" on Pampers Swaddlers has saved his family unnecessary diaper changes because "you don't have to take the diaper off. You can just see the indicator, and you know if the baby is wet."
P&G says its research shows parents are also potty training children earlier to save cash as economic uncertainty deepens.
Eric Seidel, vice president of the Huggies brand, says lower birthrates account for most of the drop in sales, with fewer babies for three consecutive years affecting sales in every diaper size. But he also saw a decline -- less than 1 percent -- in the number of diapers used per baby last year. "That's one macro driver -- we look at that as contraction," Seidel says. "But all of our data show that is not a big driver."
To appeal to the frugal consumer, companies are adjusting their products and marketing.
To bring down the overall cost of diapers, P&G has increased the number of diapers in some packaging, and it's offering more coupons via monthly newspaper inserts and direct mail, spokeswoman Jennifer Chelune says.
To encourage Pampers sales, P&G launched a rewards program that lets customers amass points they can spend on gifts.
Sandy Gill, a mother in Chicago, says she spoiled her children through hard times until her husband was laid off in May. Since then, she says, she has started combining Web coupons with store coupons, loading up on free samples at the doctor's office and writing "sob story" letters to her favorite baby-formula company to get discount vouchers. "Anything that's on sale, I'll buy," she says.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Article Re: Sposies and the Economy
My initial thoughts:
1. There is ZERO mention of cloth in this article - I think it would have been nice to have interviewed seomCD companies - to see how their sales are doing... I am guessing that CD sales have risen over the past few years, as in my personal opinion, I think more people are considering, or at least learning about CDing.
2. I think its really sad, and a little gross that babies are sitting around in messy diapers all day. Six diaper changes per day seems wayyyy to low. My LO gets changed 4 times alone at daycare, then several times at home.
Oops! I must have missed it! I only went back a few days because I saw the article in the Chicago Tribune was posted on the 4th! :::Scurries off to find original post to read others' comments:::::
It makes me sad that even those who are really bad off financially won't even consider cloth diapers. I know someone who I don't see often. Everytime their kid needs a diaper change the kid also needs a clothing change because they let the kid be in their diaper until it leaks out pee. I just can't imagine it!
It is sad. I feel the same way about breastfeeding and thought about that at the end of the article where the lady said she was telling "sob stories" to formula companies... I know that there are women who can't breastfeed, but I think it's shameful for someone not to try nursing their babies and then to complain about buying formula.
Re: the people you know who change clothes with every soaked diaper change, if they're gonna wash that much laundry they might as well CD!!!
Jess & Adam, married 2009, precious Audrey born in 2011. BFP 1/6/13, 6-wk MMC discovered at 9 wks 2/11/13. D&C 2/18/13, second D&C 4/23/13 for retained placenta.
BFP 8/24/13!! EDD 5/1/14, delivered healthy and sweet Zoey Leanne on 5/5/14 by repeat c-section.