As the one man band behind a manufacturing business of sorts I hear this question a lot. And its quite understandable when people see the cost of a diaper when you don’t know really what goes into making one since they all seem so simple to make (they’re not), or that they should cost less if a business sells more or sells out often (they cost the same whether 1 or 200 are made), or you may know how much certain fabrics costs because you saw it in an shop somewhere on sale and think someone’s trying to pull wool over your eyes (I’m not because most of the fabrics you’re probably seeing are made in China).

But at the end of the day, I’m not rolling in the dough over here and I don’t do what I do to make a little spending money here and there. This business IS my job and supports my fledgeling family of 2.25 (I’m counting the puppy in there).

Let me give you an example…lets use…The Utilitarian which is our most “expensive” product which coincidentally is also our most popular. Why, you may ask? BECAUSE IT WORKS.

It boasts 14 layers of absorbent bamboo fleece (no velour here because while it feels nice it sucks when it comes to standing up to night time use), its one size, it has a fleece liner to prevent ammonia burn & rashes (and its also the first of its kind to do so). In a word this thing is a BEAST…but I digress.

Lets break this down to how I see it on my end because I (like you as well) think in dollars and cents:

Cutting & fabric cost: 13.77
Snaps: 1.08
Fleece liner:  .75
Tag: .25
Product Sleeve: .16
Polymailer: .31
Shipping label: .14
Thread: .20

16.66 Supply cost

Labor: 18.34 (2 hr avg) = $9.17/hr

That’s just for night time diapers. I make a bit above minimum wage but lets be real; minimum wage is a joke. No one can live on that. But I do try and give myself a fair wage. Some products I actually eat the cost of because I want to provide people like you with products that actually work and not just look cute.

I may have “help” with an intern (who is paid by the way) who helps me cut out orders but at the end of the day its still just me sew, sew, sewing away each and every diaper for your little ones to use and love every single day.

And when I say that I’m SO THANKFUL for each and every one of you that buy one of my products I TRULY am in so many ways. Your helping me provide my kid with an education, your helping put food on the table, and keeping lights on, and supporting other USA businesses.