AS PART of this year’s Earth Day celebration, mothers and their children will come together to participate in the Philippine’s entry for the world record for the “most cloth diapers changed at one time” in Modern Cloth Nappying Pinays — The Great Cloth Diaper Change (GCDC) 2016, happening on April 23 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Dance Vision Arena Events Place, San Juan City.
South PiNanays will be co-hosting a separate event in Alabang for families living in the south of the metro.
The GCDC is an annual worldwide event that aims to promote the use of reusable cloth diapers that are supposed to be more baby-friendly, and help reduce waste and expenses for the family.
Last year’s record attempt saw diapers changed in 280 unique locations worldwide with 7,441 babies changed, including 92 participants from the Philippines.
Aside from the actual cloth diaper change, there will also be an expo featuring local cloth diaper makers, breast-feeding talks and counseling, parenting discussions, and booths selling family friendly items, games and raffles.
Marj Guarin, administrator of the online support and advocacy group, Modern Cloth Nappying Pinays (MCNP), explained in a release how cloth diapers have been making a comeback: “The traditional lampin (diaper) is now modernized to rival any disposable diaper’s stay-dry power and absorbency. They are great money-savers because you can use them from birth until toddlerhood, purchasing only 24-30 reusable diapers instead of hundreds — or even thousands — of disposable diapers.”
Disposable diapers also greatly impact the environment. According to the United States Environment Protection Agency, about 20 billion disposable diapers are dumped in landfills each year, accounting for more than 3.5 million tons of waste that will take around 500 years to decompose.
MCNP has 25,000 members in its online group, an expression of the growing interest in the use of cloth diapers, with some mothers launching their own cloth diaper brands. One of these is Cottonytail Cloth Diapers’ Sheryl Pineda who was the first to make handmade cloth diapers in the Philippines.
For more information, contact Modern Cloth Nappying Pinays at 0920-938-0963 or e-mail rpmacachor@gmail.com, www.facebook.com/gcdc.ph.
