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Show Transcription

SPEAKERS

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project, Bailey Bouwman

Bailey Bouwman  00:00

Welcome back to the cloth diaper podcast. This is show Sunday for today we are joined with Salem cloth project to talk about this cloth diaper bank. In Oregon. This is part of my series interviewing different diaper banks around the country about how they operate and how maybe you could be inspired to open your own cloth, diaper bank or volunteer and support with one in your backyard. We thought that for podcasts is a somewhat regular show dedicated to sharing stories about cloth diapering from parents around the world. My name is Bailey, I host the cloth diaper podcast for the last three years. I am the author of The Ultimate Guide to textiles, washing and more. And today’s episode is part of a series that I did for the flats and hand washing series challenge. These recordings were shared over in the flats group as videos back in May, and I am now taking the time to upload them as a podcast. This is a conversation with the cloth project, which is based out of Oregon. And we’ve also chatted with Jake’s diapers and Megan from Milwaukee. And I’m have I think Katie hopefully for the cloth option in September, as well as a few other contacts that I can’t wait to share and connect with you.

Bailey Bouwman  01:21

Today’s episode of the cloth diaper podcast is sponsored by Banyan babes clothing. Even though we love cloth diaper bottom sometimes we need to cover them up Banyan babes clothing created thrifted wardrobes for babies based on parents specifications with fully recyclable shipping materials the worldwide carbon neutral shipping you can feel good about supporting this mom run business. Visit Banyan babes clothing calm   to learn more and shop their current collection of thrifted wardrobe items just for you.

Bailey Bouwman  01:58

Tell me about Salem cloth Salem cloth. What is it?

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  02:04

Yeah, that’s a really good question. Where are we it is it is changing all the time. But essentially, we are a cloth diaper bank. Like at its core, our main goal is to get cloth diapers out to the community. But we just kind of have a different setup. So we have in order to fund purchasing cloth diapers and getting them out to the community, we sell we handmade products and we sell them on our website. So we sell reusable products, to then kind of help people in their homes, reduce waste, and then use those proceeds to purchase diapers and then distribute them to those in need and others throughout our our city.

Bailey Bouwman  02:47

So it’s more of like I had written down this word. I had written a word a couple of times like social responsible, socially responsible a business more than a nonprofit in some way. Yeah. What’s the word I’m looking for? Huh?

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  03:03

There’s, yeah, like a socially responsible. There’s a like, it’s called a B Corp. Here like that’s kind of like the model that we aim for. But we are technically a nonprofit. So we are a registered nonprofit. But we just kind of have a different model where we’re actually selling things to help supply our income, you know, having an income in that way. But everything that comes in, you know, we’re a volunteer run organization. So all the money that comes from our products that all goes to our diaper program. And then we also have, you know, grants and donations that come through from the community as well.

Bailey Bouwman  03:42

Okay. Yeah, that makes sense, actually, because there is a Big Brothers Big Sisters is local to me. And they run daycares as their revenue stream. Yeah, it’s like the same idea that you have, but you have a shop that runs your main revenue stream, you have just, it feels something different. But it’s actually not now that I’ve chatted with you.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  04:03

Yeah, yeah. So it is I mean, it’s, it’s confusing to a lot of people, because it’s not your standard nonprofit that you think of that, like, a lot of people are like, oh, nonprofits can’t make money. And they technically can like hospitals are a great example of like, they make billions of dollars a year. And they’re still considered a nonprofit. So, but yes, so it’s that we are a nonprofit. And we just that’s kind of another way that we thought to help kind of supply an income to ourselves so that we’re not always having to look for grant funding.

Bailey Bouwman  04:39

One of my real life career path is in public relations. And so something I do sometimes is been strategy planning, and that’s always been a challenge for nonprofits, is getting that revenue stream which was never something I really considered. But for people who are thinking about you do have to think about like, because everything cost money. Absolutely, yeah.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  05:03

And there are a couple of nonprofits here in Salem that they run on this model. And so that’s, I think that’s kind of where I got the idea. And we have a coffee shop locally, that’s, it’s really awesome. They are a coffee shop, but then they also, they employ teens that have barriers to employment, and they kind of give them leadership skills. And, and so like, that’s a nonprofit with a coffee shop. And then we have another one. That’s a, like a woodworking shop. And they employ refugees, and they provide them like classes and help them kind of develop, I guess, a, you know, I don’t know, a resume when they come to Oregon, and then they kind of go out in the world afterwards. So that’s also kind of the same concept as

Bailey Bouwman  05:53

this is actually now I’m like, feeling like I have 1000 other questions rolling through my brain, because it’s such a cool idea. And I chatted with a mom, who, in Canada the other day, just like on the phone, and she was from the UK. And they have different levels of nonprofits there as well. And some of them were based in like this kind of businesses side of world. And she was just kind of struggling to figure out how they blend. But this is how they blend is you can do you can go out and be like, I’m going to do this and the intention is something else. For where what’s your background? Who are you? Where did you get into this?

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  06:32

Yeah, so Kaileigh, that’s mean, the person behind the Salem Cloth Project project, I have a lot of people on like social media that they would like, reach out to me and like we’ve maybe had a conversation for a little while. And they’re like, Oh, wait, what’s your name? Yeah. Like, my name is nowhere. So it’s just kind of this like a Morpheus thing. But yeah, really. And yeah, so I, my background is in environmental education. Okay, I went to school for environmental services. And my plan was to work in water quality and, and then just got really interested in education. And so then I got my master’s degree in education, and policy, kind of learning about how the education system works, and best ways to kind of teach people. And so now I currently, I work full time, and I work in water quality, and I do education and outreach to the community. Cool. So full time, yeah, my full time job is doing water quality education, and talking about stormwater and how stormwater impacts our water quality here. And so that’s kind of like the baseline of kind of how I got kind of into the diver world is just kind of through the touch points of kind of learning about environmental impacts. That is so

Bailey Bouwman  07:52

cool, as I have done hydro education, community outreach, like on the ground teams, chatting with the community. I love it, and I miss it so much. So that is so cool. super jealous of your career path. And so this is like Salem cloth project is off the side of your desk, but it is like an extra thing that you do on top of

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  08:19

Yeah, hang out on top of everything else it is it is a real challenge. But you know, having a full time job having two kids, and you know, trying to squeeze in, you know, like social stuff, but, and yeah, I mean, like, luckily, the pandemic, not Luckily, but like the pandemic has allowed me to slow down and focus on other things. So I’m less scattered trying to do everything and I’m able to kind of be home and free reprioritize in a lot of ways. So that has been has been very helpful.

Bailey Bouwman  08:54

Yeah, it’s a lots of a lot of different things flying at you. And I think I’ve kind of picked up on your social feed that you have a lot of collaborative projects in your shop. Is that kind of how you kind of reduce that burden. What does your shop look like in terms of is it all you making and creating or Yeah,

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  09:11

so yes, I know that it is helpful but yeah, we my I just love community like I I rely on community I feel like it is just the way forward in collaborating versus competing with each other and, and I just love to be able to kind of like uplift other ingredients. I don’t have like a big platform, but I still like really enjoy being able to to bring other people in to the you know, to the community that we have developed and to kind of share their work as well. So for our shop, I am handmaking a lot of the products so like we do some of the basic stuff like reusable paper towels, we call those paperless towels, the snack bags, reusable bags, things Like that, those are all things that we’re making here. But then we also have, like soaps, and stuff like reusable sponges and things like that, that we are purchasing wholesale from others. And we have very intentionally selected those businesses that we are supporting. So mainly focusing on like LGBTQ minority, run businesses, and those that just really have a strong kind of business model behind them. So we’ve been very selective of who we’re we’re partnering with, but just finding ways to connect with those locally to just share kind of the sustainability portions that are happening. All kind of all around us is so cool.

Bailey Bouwman  10:47

A simple and fun. Yeah, I feel like, as I’ve looked into, like owning a refinery a couple of years ago, and then I had a couple foot surgeries, and I abandoned it. But um, yeah, just like so many incredible people doing credible work with incredible business missions out there. It’s just, it’s so cool to be able to connect with them and find them. And then I’d like for you to bring them into your shop. So you but you have so you have a master’s in public education. And now you’re kind of operating this nonprofit business thing. Supporting diaper need, what kind of resources have you used to kind of learn and grow from this? Have you tapped into anything? Any recommendations? You’d have four people or avenues? Yeah, I

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  11:33

mean, I will be completely honest, that I have not done things like quote, unquote, quote, pop like properly. Either, like, learn less. Yeah, I jumped in with two feet. And I didn’t do like, I probably didn’t do as much research as I should have. So I guess learn from me a little bit in that. But it’s also to me, I could have sat around and waited and waited and waited until I had everything perfect. And I knew everything. But then in that, that time, I wouldn’t have been able to help people. So I guess first thing is I don’t have much figured out. That’s why it’s been so key to have community partners and have other people around me to kind of help with that. But I have recently kind of communicated with other diaper banks throughout the US. So like the Milwaukee diaper mission, and Jake’s diaper bank of the Ozarks, and then like PDX diaper bank, here in Portland. So being able to communicate with them and having them be so open to sharing about how they do things has been amazing. So that I can can learn from them. But I can you know, and I also have to give myself a little bit of credit to because there are things that I’m able to kind of share as well, because I started like so non traditional.

Bailey Bouwman  12:58

Well, it’s always great to understand like, I am somebody who jumps into things without thinking about it. So sometimes it’s reassuring that that’s an okay way to do things. Yeah, because so much of what looks appears on the internet looks so polished and professional. And it can feel like somebody walked through all the steps before they did. But it was a messy six months. And now they kind of look put together but they’re still figuring it out is kind of a reassuring message, I think for a lot of Absolutely. And I

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  13:29

yeah, and I try really hard to like be open and transparent about that. Because that was kind of the thing. At the beginning that stopped me from doing a lot of stuff because I was like, Oh, I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t have enough information, I don’t have enough resources. So I’m not going to do it until I have that. And so that really impacted my confidence and my like, ability to to do that. And I hear that a lot from women specifically, that they kind of have an idea or they want to do something and they just kind of stall, because they just don’t feel like they can accomplish it. And so for me like it is messy. It is unorganized at times, but it’s possible and so I get that a lot where people are like, Oh, that’s you know, you just you’ve got everything going on, like know what’s going on. Like

Bailey Bouwman  14:20

I once went to a conference for a fact always resonates with me, like women won’t apply for a job unless they meet 80 or 90% of the qualified men well if they meet 40% and just like trying to remember that every day but like I am, like more qualified than I think I am that imposter syndrome is for real. And I chatted with Megan last week and she all of you guys like all of the cloth diaper bags, you guys. Everybody has such a different approach to it. And it’s so wonderful learning that people are doing in different ways because it’s just that’s the it doesn’t have to be Yeah, a model Not that anybody doesn’t have to be one specific type, there isn’t one model for supporting diaper need in the United States and providing diapers? It’s

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  15:10

absolutely, absolutely. And I think as long as you have that driving, you know, whether it’s diaper need, or if it’s another, you know, need that needs to be met, whether you you know, as long as you’ve got that that end goal of what you want to accomplish, I think, like, there’s just so many ways to do it. We have a local local group called free fridge, Salem, they’re a mutual aid group. They’re not a nonprofit, they will never be a nonprofit, but they just rely on community and mutual aid. And it is a beautiful thing to watch that unfold. And it’s something that I would have never done, because I’m like, oh, it doesn’t fit into that neat little box. Like, you know, you’re you’re not like, you don’t have official volunteers and all of these things. But to see them be so successful at doing something in a non traditional way. It’s like, oh, okay, that opens so many doors, that we can just, we can do things. Yeah, can we can we can have a really positive impact.

Bailey Bouwman  16:08

You so much from Oregon, every all of your examples. They feel so West Coast, just resonates so much. A slightly hilarious. So what does diaper need look like in Salem? What’s your impact kind of been? And how are you serving your community? I

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  16:27

guess would be my Yeah, I think it’s just been really interesting. Because we started, I guess I’ll start with this story. So the story that this is like our origin story is that when, when we started, I had just had my first birthday, we our daughter was like three months old when I went back to work. And so I was working in for an environmental company. And I was looking at all this data to show to like, look at how much waste is actually being produced in, in our county. And I was looking through all of this data, and I was amazed to find that the top 10 items by weight that were thrown away every year were things like construction, demolition debris, or food waste, really heavy, heavy items. Number six was disposable diapers. And I was just like, holy cow, like 10,000 tons of disposable diapers are being thrown away every year in our county alone. And so I just was thinking about that. And I was like, Oh my God, that’s insane. Like, that’s a lot of diapers.

Bailey Bouwman  17:35

Yeah. And then I can’t even visualize what 10,000 tons looks like,

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  17:41

I can’t either. So like, I literally wish that we could come I mean, I don’t. But I do I want to see all these disposable diapers and a huge pile. But at the same time that I found that information I keep on our buy nothing group on Facebook, someone actually two people had asked, saying that they need food to get them through the month. So they’re on food stamps, and their food stamps, don’t they need their money won’t come back in until the next month. And so they were asking for food and diapers. So that information, I just found that that data. And then these two folks were asking for diapers and food. And in my mind, I was like, Oh my god, what if we could get these families cloth diapers, if they you know, if they felt comfortable and confident using cloth diapers, then they could take the money that they would be spending on disposable diapers, putting it towards food or putting it towards something, you know, something else, but they wouldn’t be stuck in this position of having to ask for for diapers necessarily every month, you know, as as you know, things are occurring. So diaper need in our community really looks like that it looks like families who struggle to provide food to purchase food on a regular basis. They’re having to decide between if they’re going to purchase diapers, or if they’re going to be you know, purchasing and what you know, what type of food does that look like? So it’s just, I mean, that is when that’s when we started and that’s what it looks like now it’s even more compounded given the pandemic and kind of the economic situations that so many families are in. So it’s it’s much more than diapers, it’s, it’s about like, you know, giving families the peace of mind to be able to afford some of the things to kind of reallocate how they’re spending. But for our community, a lot of families are really kind of in that that position where diapers are not supplemented. That’s not part of any sort of program and in Salem specifically and in greater Marion County, the county that we’re located in, there are no disposable digressions. Next, we don’t have, really we have some nonprofits that provide to their families, but we don’t really have diaper banks to give those to people. So there’s, there’s a pretty big gap

Bailey Bouwman  20:13

in kind of the service need. And that’s kind of been this compounding story across the United States, unfortunately, that I’ve been hearing about lack of resources, and then that kind of struggle with the food stamps and making it work. And we just saw disposable diaper prices increase almost 25% in a year. So that’s terrifying as well as we have it really I every time it kind of it kind of stings, poverty rates and everything. So absolutely, you are providing cloth diapers in the county of Salem to an estimated number of families.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  20:57

Yeah, so since January of this for this year, we have distributed over two over 50 families directly. And then we’re also starting to, to reach through other organizations. So we’ve started with a model of direct service. So people will apply through our website. And then we kind of coordinate with them directly. And now we’re trying to expand to to actually go to other organizations and other nonprofits that are serving families, so that we don’t have duplicate services so that they’re not having to go to, you know, to their nonprofit, and then come to us. So we’ve started expanding that model as well. And so we’re able to almost double the amount of people that we’re reaching, monthly by by providing those services

Bailey Bouwman  21:41

you talked about. The one word that I heard you use when you first started telling your origin story was if parents felt confident in cloth diapering, how do you how do you embrace that into your diaper need model? How do you support parents and feeling confident? That’s one of the biggest things I think the recent article from Pampers the other day was that 50% of parents try cloth and abandon and assist like, Okay, so what’s happening? So yeah, give us some insight about how you’re supporting your community and feeling confident. Yeah.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  22:15

So like I said, I just I’ve really value community. So a part of what we’ve created is not only giving diapers out and just saying good luck.

Bailey Bouwman  22:27

You can’t do that. So what are people doing? What’s that next step? Yeah.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  22:31

So part of our model is that we’re providing we’re providing training to families. We provide online training, we’re doing zoom trainings every month, we’re also doing zoom trainings for other families, just like the general population who are not necessarily receiving diapers. So we’re trying to also increase the the amount of like knowledge about cloth diapering just generally on the world’s Oh, interesting.

Bailey Bouwman  22:55

Yeah, almost. It’s like, General webinars about diapers, let my guess early be like the nitty gritties. But like, yeah, this is a product that exists on the market.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  23:06

Yeah, so we do just a really high level basic training for anyone who’s interested in like learning about cloth diapers. So we’ll just like kind of show the different styles like this isn’t all in one, this is a pocket and just kind of give those general overview. And it’s been great because people can ask questions. And I think that, like the first first pillar, when we’re talking about providing confidence to families, is like, taking away some of the myths like re correcting some of the myths around cloth diapers, because I think there’s there’s a certain amount of people who are who have preconceived ideas of what a cloth diaper is. They either think that it’s like pins and flats, the old school style, which some can be, but they have this kind of like, this older idea of what a cloth diaper is. But they’ve also like, picked up on some things that it’s gross, or it’s you know, it smells or Yeah, gonna prevent my kid from

Bailey Bouwman  24:04

walking 50 years of disposable diaper marketing. Yeah, exactly. So

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  24:09

there’s a lot of preconceived notions. So I think the first thing is kind of busting those myths and talking honestly about the experience, but it’s then also kind of giving, giving families the information directly to like say, Hey, we’re gonna build a community here, this, you know, I want you to get to know me, I want you to get to know us. You can, you know, hopefully you can trust us and asking your questions. And then giving them the like, the basic information to say like, this is what a cloth like is, this is how you can use it. This is how you can wash it, but then also giving them the freedom to adjust as it’s needed. Because I know when I first got started, I didn’t have anyone to turn to I was just on YouTube watching YouTube videos of like cloth diapers, and there was a lot of like, conflicting information that was shared saying like, yeah, never use this dish. You know, never wash it in this way. And I’m like,

Bailey Bouwman  25:03

Oh my god, I’m gonna do it wrong. It’s like and as such a struggle that the creators have right now and 2020. And the other one being is that so much information has changed in 10 years.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  25:16

So there’s a lot like, I think people can do their own research. And maybe some people prefer to do that. But for me, like, I was always missing the conversation, like I was watching YouTube videos, but I never I never got a response when I asked my question

Bailey Bouwman  25:36

as a content creator, who is turned off for comments, because she doesn’t want to deal with it.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  25:42

But like, honestly, the thing that we try and provide is a community where they can ask us questions, but they’re also connected to other families and other parents who are going through cloth diapering. Because my experience may not be the same may not be helpful. So being able to connect them to other families in the area that are going through this, that they can, you know, feel comfortable asking those questions has been kind of a, it’s been a component that’s really important for us.

Bailey Bouwman  26:10

And hyper local experience is incredibly valuable. I have, there’s a local area in my region that has incredibly hard, challenging water. And so being able to connect that mom with other moms in her area, instead of a mom in Oregon, like your information for her is not help my information in talent is not helpful. Yeah, he lives just she needs to. So hyperlocal is, Hey, this is what’s going on your water really sucks. And these are things I’ve done to kind of shave and challenge with her regular clothes. So of course, you’re going to have those challenges. I am just like, Okay, so I’ve had a lot of thoughts, because you’re now like multiple, multiple phone calls and with different diaper banks and different people doing incredible things. And I’m thinking that like, my library does specialist appointment, like they feature people who are specialists every week, they have a different talk, like, you know, the person who does a presentation on butterflies and the person who does a presentation on how to canned goods. And it’s like, well, why Yeah, I always feel like I couldn’t do that, who would be interested in cloth diaper. And but everybody would be interested in your grandma down the road, she’ll tell her niece who may one day pick it up? And it’s like, yeah, it’s sometimes those touch points. I’m just thinking I need to reevaluate touch points, and so on.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  27:39

Yeah. And I think one of the things that I’ve been exploring to is, how do I, how do I connect with other people in the community to then to then be that touch point, because I, like I, as a white female, do not have the same experiences. And I would not feel comfortable going into like a Latino family to say, Hey, here’s how you cloth diaper, check it out. Like, I that’s not something I feel comfortable doing. I want to absolutely promote to that community. But I also want to be like culturally sensitive, so how can I? How can I connect with another touch point who can then be the leader in that community, to then have that conversation in a, in a more culturally appropriate way to meet the needs of those families. And so that’s something that I’ve been trying to, like grapple with and figure out how to, to also do that. And just kind of my like,

Bailey Bouwman  28:40

one of my big goals is I want to find an indigenous leader in the cloth community. And I haven’t found it yet. And just to be able to somehow find a way to empower somebody else to be that leader is within their community, which I think is why this a big theme for me this year has been this return to grassroots, but we still see a lot of dominance within just being white females. So how do we how do we break out of that and encourage other leadership within other communities? Yeah, absolutely.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  29:13

And I had a conversation with someone from the Latin x community and they were saying that like, her grandma constantly is saying, like, was talking about using cloth diapers? Because it’s like, why would you purchase you know something over and over again, just use this or she was specifically talking about using a like a sling, what I would call like a sling or baby carrier, but she actually had like, a formal word for that. And she was saying that that was like, what you kind of used if you were like going out and gardening like that was just the way to keep keep your child close. And she was talking about this like swing in generations where it’s like her grandma was telling her to do this, the next generation was like, No, I’m not gonna do that. And then this generation now is returning back to that. And it’s now it’s now become popular, but it’s not in the same language, you know, colloquial language that it was with her grandma. And so it’s kind of like we’re at the point where the generation is kind of returning to those, that those other styles and recognizing that that is, that was a good way to do it. So finding people that have those stories to be able to kind of talk to it in that context, I feel like is would be really awesome.

Bailey Bouwman  30:36

Yeah. Yeah. And that’s just a reminder that there is so much work to be done, and to be cognizant of the work that we’re doing and making sure we leave space, a lot of space to encourage, and from what I hear from a lot of leaders in the cloth diaper community in whatever role they play is that they are open and willing. And that’s probably the most important thing is that a lot of us are saying, like, reach out, how can I help you? Like, I want to help you. I don’t want I don’t I don’t want to do it, I want you to feel empowered to do it yourself. So I think anybody listening or watching, like, feel free to reach out. But a lot of times, I’m just like, there’s so many other. I then when I look at the indigenous community in my area, there’s so many other layers of trauma and reconciliation, and we are working through so much of it. That so there’s a lot of space that needs to be. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  31:35

think I think within like cloth diaper sphere, specifically, recognizing your privilege and where you are and kind of changing the narrative to like, from Let me help you to like you already have the information. Let me let me just give you the platform, and like talk about it. And I think that least in what I’ve seen, I just see a lot of people that look like me. And there’s just when I was starting cloth diapering, it was this kind of, like, upper echelon style, like, we just want all the diapers, and we want the fanciest like styles. And so it’s become kind of this culture in some ways of just like, fashion accessory. And so kind of just like, pulling in those different stories of bit like, how are you using them? How would you know, like, just greeing in those different stories and having representation i think is

Bailey Bouwman  32:34

so critical, fill you on that especially I feel like we probably enter cloth diapering at similar stages. And I’m glad to see that there is a little bit of a shift happening. And we are seeing changes and just to continue to run with that to make sure that we’re following those paths. And what was my other thought I was? I lost it. You had said you had said you already know what you like they didn’t like people no community knows you know how to wash clothes. You know how to put on a diaper? Yeah, you’re a lot of times people are overthinking it. And once we get wet, we can break down and we can talk about these things. But that’s one thing I feel really passionate about is that people know how to problem solve. That’s all you got to do to cloth diaper. And feel good about doing it. Ah, man, Kaileigh, so many great. So many great thoughts today on this diaper need and you’re coming at this from you’ve got kind of a more sustainable revenue source to support you and support just that awareness of reusables, too. That’s probably been a big help for you and your community. Hey,

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  33:40

yeah, absolutely. Because I think I mean, we just have so many different, like, goals that we’re trying to reach. Like we’re trying to reduce waste, we’re trying to, you know, promote equity. And I think that’s, like, that’s a reflection of my personality that like, like, everywhere, let’s do all the things. But it’s been a really great way to connect with that community. Because you know, that community obviously cares about their impact on the world. And they also feel really positive about what the work that we’re trying to do. So it really kind of amplifies the impact that we’re able to have.

Bailey Bouwman  34:14

Yeah. So if people happen to be listening in their in your region and area, how can they support you? What kind of help do you need as an organization? Yeah, what do you look for most when people say, How can I help Salem Cloth project? Yeah.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  34:28

And I have so many ways that they can help. The unfortunate part right now is that I am not in a space where I can effectively like dole out duties,

Bailey Bouwman  34:38

but tell the story of my life. I have so much but I don’t know how to Yes. I don’t

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  34:46

know how to. I don’t know I give this to you. Let’s take my brain for the day and then just go for it. Like that. That’s the struggle that I’m at right now. And I like it’s a it’s a wonderful compliment to have so many people come and say they want to help and volunteer. And I just feel terrible that I can’t like follow through as well. But honestly, as much as I want to say, please come volunteer with us, like, I just don’t have the capacity to make that happen just yet.

Bailey Bouwman  35:12

Because I come shop with you.

Kaileigh, Salem Cloth Project  35:14

Yeah, the best like that the best way that people want help is really just spreading the word and letting like, you know, letting your family and friends know that we exist that like, hey, look at this school organization, they sell reasonable products, and then the money goes towards, you know, a really good cause. So, just sharing and letting other people know that we exist. You can support us by purchasing, you can support us by donating and you can also support us by actually donating your cloth diapers. So, we accept donations of us cloth diapers, sanitize them, and they give those back out to the community too. So there’s multiple ways that you can help financially otherwise, but really bare bones. just telling folks that we exist is like, rock solid in my book,

Bailey Bouwman  35:59

I really for anybody listening but but diaper banks exist across the country, from Jakes to Milwaukee to PDX, like, a lot of times they can be quite hard to find one in my community a lot of people don’t know about and so just kind of once you find out about it, and that’s why during flush Sean’s I challenged everybody on day three to find out what there is to see because a lot of people will discover things they didn’t know. Because it’s a lot of work to manage a nonprofit, let alone market. nonprofit, right? It’s a lot. A lot of us don’t come with that. So you are the Salem cloth project. You’re on Facebook, you’re on Instagram.  salemclothproject.org you’re in officially a nonprofit with a board of directors. I don’t see. All right, well, thank you, Kaileigh for taking the time to talk to me today. Even re listening to that episode with Kaileigh. I have so many thoughts going through my brain. That’s it. I just need to sit down one day and make like some really awesome infographics. I love making infographics. Anyways, that’s besides the point I’m going to release this episode today show 74 August 9 2021 was Kaileigh. This was recorded earlier in May. And if you’re looking for more information about cloth diaper banks and previous interviews, you can go to ww cloth diaper podcast.com You can also send me an email and I’d love to chat with you. I’ve been consulting and picking brains and connecting different people around the world with other people who might be able to help or might be able to support them. I mean it’s a big world out there but it’s not that scary. I have a calendar yearly link in my email now to so I can be easily scheduled. Until next time, bye

Professional Cloth Diaper Educator

Bailey brings 5+ years of cloth diapering experience and conversation to the cloth diaper space. She's not just your every day mom blogger sharing her experience - Bailey is immersed in the cloth diaper community learning from other parents and growing as an individual. She wants to find the cloth diaper solution that truly works for you.

Bailey believes we need to stop and listen to cloth diapering parents. We need to recognize our own bias and preferences and focus on solutions that work for you, not us. The Cloth Diaper community needs to recognize the privilege of being able to cloth diaper, and provide spaces for more conversations and stories.

Cloth diapering is not about rules but about our own strength as parents to do the best we can for our children with the resources available.

About the Cloth Diaper Podcast

The Cloth Diaper Podcast is a regular podcast sharing stories from cloth diaper parents, brands and retailers from around the world. 

The Cloth Diaper Podcast is not affiliated with any school of thought of diaper laundry but instead focus on the power of peer-to-peer story telling to empower you to make your own cloth diaper journey. 

Cloth Diapering is not this or that, but rather many different experiences. 

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Email: bailey@clothdiaperpodcast.com
Cloth Diaper Podcast is located in Northern BC, Canada on the traditional territories of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nations. Black Lives Matter. Every Child Matters. & We are strong advocates for radical change as requested by those who experience social injustice. Listen first. 

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