CHENNAI: Ashwanth Sureshbabu and Swathi Sri Aravind, two entrepreneurs from Coimbatore, decided to bring the healthier tradition back — by manufacturing easy-to-use cloth diapers for babies.
A Toddler Thing was launched in November 2017. Ashwanth and Swathi were college friends. After completing his engineering, Ashwanth went to get a MBA degree in the US. When he moved back to India in 2016, he realised that a lot of people here had shifted entirely to disposable diapers and intended to change it. Their cloth diapers can be used for babies from five months till 2.5 years.
The basic research and groundwork went on for around 18 months. A lot of sampling and testing was done; finding the right manufacturer was a challenge. “Testing was difficult as neither of us had a baby. So we had to just pour water and test the diapers on our own. Even if we gave it to a family to test it, getting the right feedback from them took a lot of work,” he shares. They beta-tested the product with around 40 parents and then hit upon the right combination of cloth and inserts after eight months of trial and error. “Currently, we partially manufacture in China and stitch it in Tiruppur,” he explains.
This diaper has two elements — the colourful diaper body, and an insert. They currently have three types of cloth diaper products; (i) pocket diapers, the basic model which has a pocket where a microfiber insert should be placed, as well as external snaps for a bamboo insert if required. (ii) All-in-one diapers, which have a microfiber insert stitched inside and has elastic on the sides as an extra layer of protection to prevent leaks. (iii) Bamboo all-in-one diaper, where the insert stitched inside is bamboo insert.
“A disposable diaper takes close to 500 years to decompose, whereas cloth diapers are reusable and last up to 100 washes,” says Ashwanth, and it benefits the baby’s skin too. Over the past four months, shipping has gone out all around the country including Uttarakhand and Odisha.
“We are looking to start manufacturing in India completely, in another six months,” says Ashwanth. They will also be launching four new models soon. “We are looking at new-born baby diapers, a trimmer version of diapers, a hemp-cotton diaper which is natural and lasts longer. Design and production are underway,” he adds.
Baby talk
The Toddler Thing was started by college-friends Ashwanth and Swathi in 2017
Based on their awareness of cloth or reusable diapers, they took a year-and-a-half of groundwork before launching with their own investment
They tested their product with 40 parents over a period of eight months of trial and error
A Toddler Thing’s cloth diapers are available on Amazon, Flipkart and Baby Chakra. You can also order directly on their website - www.atoddlerthing.com. For details call 9600368843, 9944680476