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Why are diapers so expensive?

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211–220 of 563 posts

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You and I both. How many of us would have to chip in another $10-$20 in taxes to cover those without, so a parent and his/her children can take a shit and dispose of it in a way that meats their commitments as appropriate?

As others have said, it's not a question of "having diapers" vs "not having diapers". It's a question of convenience for the parents to not use another cheap alternative -- cloth diapers. Also, we already have many assistance programs and I would like to understand the specifics of a situation that leaves someone without enough money to buy even disposable diapers if they're already on assistance. Further, where does…

It's a question of convenience for the parents to not use another cheap alternative -- cloth diapers

Time spent cleaning cloth diapers is time not spent working and earning money.

Being poor is expensive. Being poor means you are on an hourly wage in shift work not a salary. That means half an hour late for work means half an hour less money.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#213

There are a couple of ‘facts’ listed here that don’t line up with my current reality and very recent knowledge (3 kids, most recent is 18mo). First off, 12 changes a day is a huge outlier - even for a newborn. 8 would be a more reasonable number, and it drops down to the 4-6 range in the first year, and by now we’re at 3 if we don’t go swimming. Second item that sounds waaay off is $1000/yr for diapers. Again, that h…

Why would people bring a child into the world if they can't even afford diapers, will always blow my mind.

One factor to consider is that it might, even in the US, be one of the few ways to make sure you'll (eventually) have some helping hands and be (somewhat) taken care of in older age.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#215
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's better for the environment, too.

Interesting point, what is the carbon footprint in washing a soiled nappy compared to making and disposing of disposable ones. I don't know, be interesting to see if there is a difference. Thinking for washing them you would need high temperatures and a lot of water.

I've looked this up before. Some sources claim it comes out just as bad (or worse!) to use cloth, but when I looked into it further they were considering hot water washes and drying in a dryer. Whereas in reality you can usually cold or warm wash cloth nappies and line dry them. They also seem to consider them being used on only one child, when they can usually be reused for more than one child.

Looks like Wikipedia actually has a decent section on it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaper#Debate

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#216
post #159

In UK nappies are ultra cheap. My Wife uses Lidl's nappies but Aldi's are equally good (if not the same!). They cost around 5-7 pence each. Can't really exactly remember because they are so cheap. Pampers are more expensive but by much.

ALDI Junior Nappies Size 5 (40) €2.99 - €7.5c each

Pampers Premium Size 5 (35) - €8.99 - €25.5 each

Bigger packs are cheaper per nappy. If you can wait for offers you usually can get the Pampers much cheaper e.g. right now 2 x 72 pack for €23, 16c per nappy.

We started off with Pampers and moved to ALDI, never looked back.

But all in all at 4 nappies a day you'd just break €110 a year with ALDI.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#217
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jesus, your comment and the other replies just straight up reek of privilege/ignorance. What you're suggesting is obviously the pragmatic choice - obviously, if she's poor as shit and can't afford regular diapers, using reusable cloth ones is a great solution. But that's not the fucking point of the article - its $CURRENT_YEAR in the richest country in the world, this absolutely shouldn't be a thing that happens in t…

My parents used cloth nappies with my oldest brother in 1990, we weren't poor, and we lived in a developed nation. Disposable nappies are horrible for the environment.

But people are lazy. A child is work seemingly very few people are willing to put into.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#218

There are a couple of ‘facts’ listed here that don’t line up with my current reality and very recent knowledge (3 kids, most recent is 18mo). First off, 12 changes a day is a huge outlier - even for a newborn. 8 would be a more reasonable number, and it drops down to the 4-6 range in the first year, and by now we’re at 3 if we don’t go swimming. Second item that sounds waaay off is $1000/yr for diapers. Again, that h…

12 changes a day is not an outlier for a newborn, it’s normal. My son is 18 months and we change him probably 6 times a day at least. Diaper pricing is dependent on how many you buy at once, I buy giant boxes so my unit cost is low. If you don’t have $40 to buy the giant box, but only $10 to buy a small package. You are paying twice the unit cost.

I realized in my thirties that if I had just dropped $1000 on a pallet of razor blades when I turned 18 I'd have saved a couple times that. Way better returns than the actual "investment" that money ended up in.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#219
post #202
post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or a subsidy on diaper cleaning services. Cloth diapers with a service are price-comparable to disposables currently and otherwise better in several other ways.

That'd be great for anyone who doesn't have access to a washing machine as well.

Isn't it hand washable ?

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#220

Ireland 5 nappies a day x 365 days = 1825 nappies / 30 per pack = 61 packs x euro 2.99 [1] = euro 182.39 per annum Which sounds about right to me. Where are they getting a $1000 from? [1] https://www.aldi.ie/extra-large-nappies-size-6/p/05962400586...

Well in smaller EU countries the prices tend to be little bit higher due to quantities but year that 1000$ doesn't add up. ATM couldn't find anything under 0.18€/piece in Estonia. https://www.prismamarket.ee/products/search/teipm%C3%A4he
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