Frequently Asked questions

WHAT IS A CLOTH DIAPER ?

A cloth diaper is an absorbing diaper made of textile such as polyester, cotton or bamboo. It closes using snaps and has elastic around the baby’s legs and waist. To increase absorbency, one can add an insert or more for nights for example (the insert is a rectangular piece of textile that is placed in the diaper). The outer material of the Sustain a Bum cloth diaper is made out of PUL (laminated polyurethane), a fine waterproof material with a soft touch and breathable that dries quickly.

The Sustain a Bum diapers fit babies from 4 to 15 kilos (One-Size-Fits-All) thanks to their numerous buttons that allow the best adjustment.

Why use cloth diapers ? 

All in all, using Sustain a Bum cloth diapers will have a positive impact on 
your baby’s health, your wallet and on the planet. 

On top of that, your baby will look fantastic in the fashionable and colorful Sustain a Bum cloth diapers!

... YOUR BABY’S HEALTH

You could imagine using cloth diapers only for ecological reasons, however by using cloth diapers, you first take care of your child's health.

Indeed, the components of a disposable diaper are kept secret by the manufacturers. Several analysis have shown that a disposable diaper can contain over 50 chemical compounds. They are essentially made of :

• wood pulp (bleached with chlorine)
• plastics (polyethylene, polypropylene, synthetic rubber material, etc. which can all be sources of allergies)
• sodium polyacrylate: a gel that can absorb up to 80 times its weight in liquid which results in dry skin, encouraging the application of creams
• traces of dioxin: they have been found as a result of the chlorine whitening process used in the manufacturing process. Molecules of dioxin are stored mainly in fat cells and can remain there up to 30 years. Dioxin was classified as cancerous by the WHO
• various chemical compound to hide smells with perfumes and can cause allergenic reactions when in contact with baby’s skin
• tributyltin (TBT) – a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals

Given the built of a disposable diaper, it does not let baby’s skin breath. On average, the temperature in the disposable diaper is one degree Celsius higher than in cloth diapers (38°C). The elevated temperature could be affecting the testicles development and fertility according to doctors.

As the disposable diaper is completely water and gas proof, it leaves no room for the ammonia vapor (residue from urine decomposition) to escape. This encourages bacteria proliferation which can cause or aggravate baby’s diaper rash.

On the other hand, the material used in the Sustain a Bum cloth diapers are less aggressive for baby’s bum. Made out of polyester, they do not have any chemical smell compound, perfume or TBT and will let your baby’s skin breath while remaining waterproof thanks to its PUL outer layer. 

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... YOUR WALLET’S WELLBEING

Let’s make a quick costs comparison between disposable diapers and cloth diapers:

Disposable diapers
On average, a baby needs to be changed 6 to 8 times per day and a toddler 5 to 6 times. For calculation, we take an average of 6 times per day knowing this number can vary given the family habits, baby’s health, the quantity of fluid baby produces. Also, we estimate that baby is in diapers for an average of 2.5 years.
Altogether, baby is in diapers for 912.5 days and uses 5’475 diapers. In Switzerland, the average price for a diaper is 0.46 CHF on average. Parents spend for each child on average 2’518.50 CHF (1’095 CHF for the COOP “prix garantie” or MIGROS “budget” and 3’558.75 CHF for the PAMPERS active fit).

Sustain A Bum cloth diapers 
The Sustain a Bum diapers are One-Size-Fits-All which means you will be able to use them on babies 4 to 15 kilos. The initial outlay for modern cloth diapers may seem large – they may cost you between 450 CHF and 650 CHF initially. To which you can add an average of 250 CHF for the washing machine depreciation, the water, detergent and electricity costs for the 2.5 years your baby will be wearing diapers.
Cloth diaper will cost you between 700 CHF to 900 CHF everything included. 

You can save on average 1’800 CHF per child and more if you reuse the cloth diapers for your baby’s siblings or if you resell them.

In case you were wondering, 1'800 CHF is equal to:

• a really fancy stroller plus some great accessories for your baby
• a new couch
• 180 babysitting hours
• 2 fitness pass for a year
• 1 macbook 13''
• 2 tickets for New York from Europe plus a couple of nice evenings in some hotels
• 2 new bikes and a trailer to carry your baby
• ... and many other things
  
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... THE PLANET

Using disposable diapers, one child will consume : 4 to 5 trees, 25 kg of plastics (made out of 67 kg of oil). They will generate 1 ton of waste, take up to 500 years to decompose or produce dioxine when incinerated.

Cloth diapers use few raw material to be produced : 90 times less renewable material and 8.3 times less non renewable materials. They generate 60 times less waste and use 2 to 3 times less water than disposable as a large quantity of water is needed to produce the cellulose used in disposable diapers.

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How many diapers do I need ?

On average, your baby will be changed about 6 times per day across its diaper years. We recommend washing the diapers every second to third day (no longer as you don't want the soiled diapers sitting too long – it can damage the fibers). The 15 Sustain a Bum pack should have you covered as they dry quickly. You can always start small and gauge whether you think you need more. 

Do I need a diaper cover for the Sustain a Bum cloth diapers ?

No, Sustain a Bum diapers are all you need as they are stuffable with one or more insert for absorbency and the outer material is water resistant.


HOW DO I USE THE SUSTAIN A BUM DIAPERS ? 

For more information regarding how to use the Sustain a Bum cloth diapers, how to wash them and what to do if they leak, please take a look at the instructions. 

BUT, I DON'T WANT ANY POO IN MY WASHING MACHINE. WHAT CAN I DO?

The logistics of cloth diapers imply in many people's mind that when you wash the diaper, you wash the poo as well. Actually, there is no need for that as when you put the diaper on, you add a sheet of liner between your baby's bum and the diaper. That way, it will collect all the solids and you will be able to throw them in the toilet when changing your baby. There will be no poo to scrap off and none in your washing machine!

What happens to my personal information once I enter it in the site ?

For more information around this topic, please check our privacy policy page.

Is my payment secure with you ?

Sustain a Bum works exclusively with Paypal for the payment. This means you can pay with your credit card or Paypal account and that your data is totally secure. More information is available on the Paypal website. 

Where do you ship ?

We currently ship to Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK. Don't hesitate to send us an email to contact (at) sustainabum (dot) com if you would like to buy Sustain a Bum diapers but that your country is not on the list, we will see together what we can do.

We are shipping from Switzerland. When ordering from any other country, please expect to pay VAT and custom taxes as your order passes through the customs. Shipping rates

 - Switzerland: 6 CHF

 - Europe: 12 CHF

For information regarding our return policy, please check our Terms and Conditions page.

Who are you ?

Sustain a Bum is a brand of from the company Lods Sustainability, our mission is to provide our customers with sustainable and fabulous products for a daily usage. 

The company was created in March 2012 by Gabrielle, a young sustainability professional in Geneva (Switzerland).

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