Fair Trade Cloth Diapers?

This morning I was reminded of this Benjamin Harrison quote, that I first saw on my friend Christy's facebook wall a few years ago. It really struck me as being timeless . . .a bit of wisdom from a 19th century American president still very relevant to our 21st century society.

I don't have a lot of money, so I really have to make the money I do have count. I understand the desire to be frugal, I really, really do.  However, for me, the peace of mind of buying fair trade and knowing where what I buy comes from is well-worth it. As I've said in previous posts, I believe that every dollar I spend casts a vote for the way I want things to be.

Quote: Scott Umstattd     Image Source: Fair Trade Wire

Here's how I want things to be: I want all people to have the opportunity to make a fair living.

Here's what I don't want: I don't want to purchase items that were made by child labor, slave labor, workers working in deplorable conditions and/or making pennies a day.  I don’t want anything that allows the few to get extraordinarily rich on the backs of the very poor.  If I can’t afford something fair trade, I’d prefer to go without than to buy something cheaper that I know was produced by an exploited labor force.

Cheap Knock-off Cloth Diapers from China

The discussion that spurred my memory of Benjamin Harrison’s wise words was about knock-off cloth diapers from China. It seems some cloth-diapering mamas are frustrated that they can no longer get inexpensive, Alva diapers from China, because they violate a Pending U.S. Patent held by Julie Ekstrom of Kanga Care the designer of Rumparooz, Lil Joey, and Eco-Posh cloth diapers. While I applaud them for choosing cloth diapers over disposible, my questions to these moms are these:

• Is the little bit of money you saved by buying knock-offs from China, really worth it  knowing that 
  . . . the design was stolen from a working mother from Colorado? 
  . . . the labor practices and conditions where these knock-off are produced are questionable at best?
  . . . the quality and fit is not as nice as the real thing?  
  . . . they are made in china? 
• Do you really want to trust something made in china to lay against your baby’s skin night and day?
• Why not spend a few more dollars, have a few less diapers in your stash, make your own or buy your diapers second-hand?  

Want to know more? Here's a more detailed explanation from One Lucky Mama about  why not getting knockoff diapers from China is not a bad thing: Why I Won’t Sell Chinese Cheapie Cloth Diapers