Next Saturday parents will have a chance to partake in a Guinness World Record Breaking event while celebrating Earth Day at the same time for what is known as The Great Cloth Diaper Change.
The event is similar to many others that will be taking across the world at the same time, with the goal of getting the most number of cloth diaper changes to happen at the same time. For areas in the Eastern Standard Time zone, people will begin changing diapers at noon.
Heading the event is Sonrise Diaper Service Owner Vikki Casey-Ahmed. The event is meant to raise awareness to the cost and environmental benefits of using cloth diapers as opposed to disposable diapers.
I think cloth diapers really are easy, she said. `Eventually we are not going to have a choice with the amount of trash that is being generated.`
The Sonrise Diaper Service opened its first store on March 1, in Guilderland where new and `gently loved` cloth diapers are sold. Over at the Web site, sonrisediaperservice.com, Ahmed and her husband offer tips and information as to why cloth diapers are the better way to go.
Casey Ahmed learned about the benefits of cloth diapering after she said in her household they went through 140 diapers in just one week, filling up two trash bags. It didn’t seem right to her that disposable diapers generated so much waste, so she decide to switch over.
She said that some people look at her as if she is from the 1950’s. The feeling of appearing strange is what could hold some people back from transitioning over to using cloth diapers.
`I think some people need support in that decision,` she said.
After seeing the logo for the Great Cloth Diaper Change event’s banner on the internet back in February, Casey-Ahmed thought it would be a cool thing to be a part of. She also said that this would be bringing a practice to an area that she feels is behind-the-times.
`Our area tends to be a bit behind on some things,` she said. `We’re sometimes like the Midwest on some thought processes.`
She began reaching out to other area stores that specialize in cloth diapering to co-host the event with her to not just bring more awareness to the topic, but to also help `lighten the load` of putting it on.
Beth Smassanow, owner of DiaperEnvy.com and co-host of the event, said there are a lot of misconceptions to what exactly is involved in cloth diapers.
`Most people need to know cloth diapering is not what it used to be,` she said. `People get nervous because they think it will be gross.`
Smassanow’s site also sells cloth diapers and said it promotes the use of cloth diapers over disposables. She said she is excited to get involved with the event because it will be an opportunity to meet other people in the area who are interested in cloth diapering as well as bring it to people’s attention who know nothing about it.
`People are nervous because they think it will be gross,` she said. `It will get people out in the community and see what it is all about.`
Casey-Ahmed that cloth diapers are not difficult to use as many people believe because most remember when only rubber pants could be use. Now people can use Velcro fasteners or snaps to secure the cloth diapers.
`You can get super fancy and super not fancy,` she said.
The event will take place at the Calvary Methodist Church in Latham on Saturday, April 23. The event, which will coincide with a parent expo, will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sonrise is asking families to donate $1 donation per family at the door, which will go towards the Real Diaper Association, a nonprofit.
“