Are these nappies China Cheapies?

In recent months and weeks I have been saddened by Baby Bare being labelled as a CC. It's hard to explain how it feels when someone labels your work in this way. Its actually really offensive. What is most offensive, is this is done by people who have never seen our nappies. They assume because they are often sold under $20, they are a CC.

This new 'rule' of spotting a CC bothers me. I started Baby Bare to give parents a choice from the cheap china nappies. I started Baby Bare to try and make a difference - to offer parents who could only afford second hand a brand new option. I have since spent 3 years pouring value into our nappies.

Do these nappies look the same to you? Compare the Baby Bare above to the CC's below.

So I want to have a discussion about CC's and cloth nappies in general. I want to highlight some of the issues we are seeing. I have found those making the 'rules' of what is a CC have other interests at heart. So I am going to give you my perspective on what many of these issues are.

Is it a CC?

CC's are hard to pick. They are getting harder to pick. More options are available to make changes to CC nappies to make them look like another nappy. In some ways, I guess this is ok. You are getting more value for your buck with more features. What bothers me most is not this. It is the misleading behaviour of some sellers. It is the theft of others IP. It is the selling of items that are not made to last that turn parents off using cloth nappies.

Are CC's Bad? 

This is a passionate issue for many.

My first cloth nappy was a CC. Luckily I also bought 3 other nappies on sale from a 'real' Australian brand. When I felt the inserts and put them on my baby, a light bulb went on. I could see the quality. I could feel the difference. Needless to say, my CC's went in a drawer and I never used them. I ended up gifting them to a mum who couldn't afford to buy any nappies.

CC's sometimes offer mum's who cannot afford more an option. CC's are sometimes a good starting point, or a good back up supply. Some mum's love them. Others hate them.

If you are concerned about the conditions in which a cloth nappy is made. It is best to go with a brand. A brand that can explain the conditions its factory operates under.

If you want a nappy that will last, a nappy that comes with support, help and a good warranty - buy accordingly.

If you have the money to buy at $30+ a nappy you still need to shop wisely. I personally believe many brands are not worth the high price tag put on them. Some have amazing features and quality, others do not. Just because a nappy has a RRP of $30+ does not instantly mean it is worth that much. I have bought $38 nappies that I thought were worse then my CC's. Read reviews, ask questions.

Stealing others Copyright or Patents

Did you know many CC's infringe on other peoples hard work. Did you know many of the CC prints you see, have been adapted or stolen from other brands (Grovia Owls, Bumgenious LoveLace to name a couple) . Did you know that 2 years ago I paid thousands of dollars to print a Baby Bare custom design to have it stolen, reprinted and sold all over the world? Did you know many who sell rebranded CC's (and not only CC sellers) have now sold my design and profited off its use? Some have responded fairly when approached. Others have ignored my emails or blatantly refused to remove the items from their website. Others have made me feel like they are the victim having stock they are asked not to sell. My honest thoughts are, if you go to another country and buy their fabrics with no research, or do not make the investment to have your own printed, you run the risk of this happening. Those that make their own should not be ripped off by others not willing to make the investment.

I have invested to have all our Baby Bare Minky prints (and all future Silky Bare) custom printed for Baby Bare. This is because I have realised it is the right/best thing to do. To offer my customers something different, to offer value by buying a unique designed nappy - and to be sure I know the source of any artwork we use.

Materials

I have found some CC sellers are misleading about the materials in their nappies. I recently bought a nappy that claimed it had 2 layers of bamboo in the booster. I cut it open. It had a stay dry liner and 3 layers of microfibre. Another claimed to be lined with stay dry bamboo - such a thing doesn't exist. Bamboo is a natural fabric - it isn't a stay dry fabric. People buy these nappies based on misleading claims. One mother I spoke to had bought this bamboo lined nappy with a child allergic to synthetics. She was not very happy, and neither was her baby.

Made in China

Just because a nappy is made in China does not make it a CC. Even the fabrics you will find in your Aussie made nappies were probably originally from China (even if sewn up here). This is because of the price to produce, the resources to produce and the availability. It is very hard to find Aussie made fabrics.

When you buy from an Australian business, you are supporting Australians. Whether they sew their nappies or not. Made in China does not make an item inferior quality, nor does it make it a 'CC'. This is a side note, but many people do not feel they are supporting an Aussie Work at home mum when they buy nappies made in China. I can tell you, almost every brand of cloth nappies in Australia is run by a work at home mum (even the largest). Most do it with no help, or just a couple of 'helpers'. Whether you support someone who is sewing in their own home, or someone who is designing, manufacturing and packing in their own home - you are supporting a work at home mum. Full stop. Even women who rebrand CC's are supporting their families too. Essentially my arguments are not about not supporting these women, but about shopping smarter and ensuring those who rebrand CC's do so with accountability and do not resell items that infringe others IP as outlined above.

Back to the CC. What I have heard so many times is people who were told an item was made in Australia, only to find out they can buy the same thing on ebay from China for $5.

So with this info at hand how do you spot the CC. Afterall, there are many different CC designs.

If you buy the nappy off Aliexpress or ebay. If it is cheap, it is a CC. Alternatively, its a rip off of a good brand being made cheap.

Spotting CC's that have had a new 'brand' put on them is harder. Here is my personal checklist to spot them:

1. Pocket Nappy (Pretty much every CC is a pocket nappy)

2. It looks a lot like this (but can look different).

3. The inserts look like this and you probably only get one of them.

4. Jump on e-bay and have a look at the cheap nappies. If the prints look the same, it might be a CC.

5. Terrible website images. Most brands take care to have nice pictures of their products.

6. There are many many prints and colours available. Given the expense to custom print fabrics, any 'Australian' brand with 10-20 different prints, is probably selling a CC.

7. They do not have retailers. There are a few rebranded CC that do have retailers. But most do not. Usually, if a nappy is sold through other retailers, it is reputable.


"So is Baby Bare a CC like that chick on Facebook said?" 

So all this takes me back to where I started. Why aren't my Baby Bare nappies a CC? Afterall, my Teddy Nappy retails currently for $16. My nappies are made in china. So what's the difference?

I touched on some of this above but I want to clear it up. We use top quality materials (this means, when I say bamboo for example, I mean heavy and thick - 450GSM as opposed to materials used in CC's that are half the weight). I print my own fabrics and design them in house. This means me and my husband sit down, open our copy of illustrator and design. We purchase images with licenses to use if needed. Baby Bare prints are an expression of what we love in our own kids, what our kids love and what we know our customers love.

I am a registered business. I pay insurance (and a lot of it to protect both you and me). I pay taxes and contribute to the community.

My nappies are a unique design. They fit differently, they look different to a CC or any other nappy on the market. You cannot buy them cheaper with a different label. We are the one and only home of our nappies. Our inserts have been properly tested and designed to work. We offer 6 months warranty. We have our items made ethically in a family run factory where the workers take a month off to celebrate Chinese new year. They take the other Chinese holidays too. They don't work Sundays (Saturday working is standard in China, like it is in many countries around the world). Workers are properly trained (to produce high quality) and treated well. Our factory focuses on having a few customers who buy all the time, rather than hundreds who buy a few hundred CCs and never come back. This relationship means our product is made with a lot of love as they appreciate the continued support we offer them and they strive to help us grow as they grow.

So when you buy with Baby Bare you support and Aussie work at home mum. You support other businesses in Australia that we support and you support an ethical factory in China with men and women like yourselves who want to feed and educate their families. And for that, we thank you.

Jenny
Proud Owner - Baby Bare