CLOTH DIAPER. Mothers and babies join the first ever Great Cloth Diaper Change in Davao City on Saturday, April 23. The GCDC event is on its second year in the Philippines. (Zea Io Ming C. Capistrano/davaotoday.com)
DAVAO CITY – Parents and babies here spent a day of fun learning more about what is now called as the “modern lampin”.
Noemi Gutierrez, the organizer of the first Great Cloth Diaper Change in Davao on Saturday, April 23 said the GCDC event is on its sixth year globally and the second this year in THE country.
“Last year the Cloth Diaper Addicts PH won the most number of participants in one venue where 98 pairs of mothers and babies joined,” she said.
Gutierrez said Davao’s local group called Advocates of Davao for Cloth Diapers joined the nationwide event which included Manila, Pampanga, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.
A total of 38 pairs of mommies and babies attended the gathering.
For Gutierrez, they want the event to make a statement and to spread awareness of the benefits of the “modern lampin”.
Gutierrez shared that she found out about cloth diapering when her son was already 15 months old. That’s when she realized that she is spending so much for disposable diapers.
“Disposable diapers may cost you about P14 each, say you need to change four times a day, then that is costly. I pity my husband,” she quipped.
Aubrey Cabo, a stay at home mom from Davao, has been using cloth diapers for almost two years now.
“We started using cloth diapers when baby was three months old. We chose to exclusively use it when we noticed that baby had no diaper rashes using cloth diapers,” said Cabo.
But for her, lesser garbage in the house is also a benefit. “Especially here in Davao, we have a schedule for collecting garbage so disposable diapers accumulate in the trash,” she said.
“And the best part of using cloth diapers is we didn’t have to worry if we can buy diapers for the next day or week because cloth diapers are washable,” Cabo said.
Economical
Cabo said she currently has 30 to 35 cloth diapers, but now she only has 10 cloth diapers left.
“We’re nearing potty training. I sold most of our stash and gave some to my friends who want to try it,” she said.
She said even if she had to add cloth diapers to her laundry, she was still able to save money than buying disposable diapers.
Among the benefits that Cecile Hurtado, a member of CDAPH, found in using cloth diapers is it’s more economical.
“If you buy disposable diapers, it would cost you P60,000 in three years time. But with cloth diapers, your P10,000 is good for three years. That’s already 30 pieces,” she said.
“Usually you will be using six to eight diapers in a day, so you have extra diapers to use while drying the other diapers,” Hurtado said.
‘Modern lampin’ and eco-friendly
Hurtado said some may spend P1,000 per month buying disposable diapers.
“But that would you choose? You pay for something that will only go to waste or something which even your next baby can use,” she said.
The hype about modern cloth diapers are getting popular nowadays, but Hurtado said, “we have been using this before.”
“Lampin siya na ginawang stylish (It’s the lampin cloth that was made more stylish),” she said.
Because it’s washable, cloth diapers can be used until the baby is two years old “or even by your next baby”.
And with no more disposable diapers in the trash, Hurtado said cloth diapers is more environment-friendly.
“Kasi nagiging eco-friendly group na tayo. Yun ang nagiging uso, we want to contribute sa green planet (Because now we are becoming eco-friendly. It’s becoming a trend nowadays, we want to contribute to a green planet), she said.
Gutierrez said they look forward to more participants of the event next year. (davaotoday.com)
