Declining sales in disposable nappies - why?
by
, 09-10-2011 at 22:43
(675 Views)
How did your weekend go? Was it too quick for you as it was for me?
Anyway, as I'm winding down for the night in preparation for the start of a new week, I'd like to share this blog post by PhD In Parenting commenting on a Wall Street Journal news article about the decline in disposable diaper sales.
It's a US based perspective but raises some controversial and interesting issues. Here's an excerpt from the news article and the blog post...
From the Wall Street Journal article:...The volume of diapers sold in the U.S. slipped 1% 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%, indicating parents are both cutting back and trading down to cheaper private labels...
...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.
From the PhD In Parenting blog post:...So, what are the possible reasons for a decrease in sales of disposable diapers?
Parents Cannot Afford to Buy Diapers: Certainly, as WSJ suggested, one reason for the decline in sales of disposable diapers could be that people cannot afford them. Unfortunately, low income parents do not appear to be able to access diapers through programs like WIC in the United States in the same way that they can access food. Some families have apparently been trying to re-use disposable diapers and there has been an increase in cases of diaper rash in low income areas
I found it shocking that some parents would consider cutting back on the frequency of nappy changes, even with the rising costs of baby supplies and all. But I can imagine how desperate situations might drive some parents to resort to such practices. However with recent surge of media exposure to cloth nappies in Australia, hopefully this will increase people's awareness of cloth nappy options to relieve the cost burden of purchasing nappies, even at least on a part time basis.
Have a good week ahead everyone!
To read more on my cloth nappy journey, you can also check out my other cloth nappy posts or stop by my personal blog livingserenely.blogspot.com
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