Thank you for the summary. I appreciate you highlighting the key points and initiatives discussed in the document. Summarizing complex topics concisely while maintaining essential details is an important skill.

1. Incentives, Subsidies, and More

2.  Nonprofit promoting and supporting the use
of 100% reusable cloth diapers.
 Organizing volunteers to spread the word
about cloth diapers.
 Collecting and disseminating research and
educational materials.
 Supported by businesses like you! Thank you!
 Heather McNamara, RDA Executive Director
heatherm@realdiaperassociation.org
@RDAHeatherMc

3. Imagine a community where a
majority of families use cloth
diapers. This isn’t a virtual
community, but your actual
neighborhood. Where do these
families get their diapers? You, of
course!
But how did they all choose cloth
diapers?

8.  Want to see more local cloth diaper use? Join
RDA efforts to help families in your
community learn about and acquire reusable
cloth diapers.
◦ Real Diaper Circles, Great Cloth Diaper Change
◦ Local advocates for incentives, subsidies

9.  Programs are varied. Must be tailored for
community.
 Join our community at
www.facebook.com/DiaperAidHub to share
resources, stories, tips, actionable plans for
volunteers to use locally.

10.  Rachel Aube, RDA volunteer working on
incentives in Victoria, BC.

12. My name is Rachel Aube, and I am a cloth diaper advocate, mom of two, and a volunteer for the Real
Diaper Association. It has become my goal to successfully lobby my regional government for a cloth
diaper subsidy.
I live in Victoria BC, which is located on Vancouver Island (just north of Washington State). We live in a
moderate climate surrounded by oceans, mountains and clean air. Victoria is definitely an ‘eco friendly’
place, and many people here cloth diaper already. In our region of 200,000 population, we have 7 cloth
diaper retailers, 4 artisan manufacturers and 2 diaper services. Our region has approximately 1400 babies
born per year, and it is estimated that cloth use is 6%.
Starting a cloth diaper subsidy campaign is a lot of work, but its very rewarding. I feel its important to tell
anyone who is considering a successful campaign that it will take at least a year to get your proposal in
front of the appropriate government officials. I started my campaign in April 2011, and we are 5 months in
and we have over 3000 petition signatures. My goal is 15-20K, and we have some relevant large events
coming up, including multiple baby fairs and the 2012 GCDC, so I think we are well on track. I like to think
of it in phases so it doesn’t seem like such a goliath of a task, and it helps keep me organized.

13. Phase 1 – Research
Please, do the research BEFORE you start. Know your stats. What is the estimated percentage of composite waste in your
local landfill? How many babies are born each year in your city? Are there other local subsides? Which politicians would
support you? How many cloth diaper businesses are in your area? If you are leading the campaign, people expect you to be
kind of an expert, as I quickly found out. However, this data is not hard to get, you just have to keep it all organized. Keep
records of links where you find the data and document your findings. Its really interesting when you start to get into it, and
you learn a lot about the waste industry – its a real eye opener! Here are some of my stats that I used for media and on our
Facebook page; CLOTH DIAPER SUBSIDY IN VICTORIA B.C.
Diapers are 3.8 percent of waste at Hartland Landfill
In comparison, Electronics are 1.91, Glass 1.54, Rubber .71
There were 1400 Births in Greater Victoria in 2010.
Babies use approx 35 diapers per week. Over a 2.5 year period, that's close to 5000 diapers per baby.
That means every year in Victoria almost 6 million diapers end up in our landfill. This does not include the
wipes or plastic bags the disposables are wrapped in.
Hartland Landfill uses an operations cost of $38/tonne. Diaper waste costs are 145K per year.
If we can convert 300 new families to cloth (20%), that will mean a reduction of 1000 tonnes, or $38,000
in operating costs.
A cloth diper subsidy of $100/family will cost $30,000. The remaining $8,000 can be spent on
administration costs. This can also create a new part-time position at City Hall!

14. Phase 2 – Find your Allies!
In my search for allies, I went into all of the local cloth diaper stores, and contacted the on-line
retailers and manufacturers and asked for their thoughts on a cloth diaper subsidy. Remember,
these people are the industry experts! My ‘pitch’ was that I was interested in starting a subsidy
campaign, but I wanted one of the stipulations to be that the subsidy must be used locally. The local
businesses have been my biggest supporters, and helped me get the word out to moms and
advocates through their social media connections and websites. Real Diaper Circle leaders are
another great asset. Again, they are pre-established networks that can help get the word out .
In my experience I believe you need a combination of supporters to make your campaign look
professional and ‘support-worthy’. There are a whole lot of abandoned Facebook pages and half-
attempts out there, and you have to set yourself apart. You also need diversity – you want to have
parents, businesses, community activists, politicians and media groups to be on your team. People
will be concerned if it looks like you are self-serving. If you are in the industry and stand to ‘profit’
form a subsidy, you have to diversify. Partner with people, ask for help from volunteers, mention
local business and group on your social media page and when you do any media. You add value to
your group when free advertising is a perk! I have turned into a notorious name dropper, but people
really appreciate it.

15. Phase 3 – Go Public – Media and Petition Campaign
Our core group in the subsidy campaign started with a joint event for the GCDC,
created up a face book page, and contacted some of the local city council
members who we thought would be interested in our cause. We searched bios and
committees, and found two local politicians who joined with us to champion our
cause, and one council member helped us to declare April 23rd Cloth Diaper Day in
Victoria BC. We called the local papers, radio and TV stations and the local Green
Party representative, and had a good turn out for an exciting event. It yielded a few
pictures in the local paper and the first mention of our goal to create a cloth diaper
subsidy in Victoria. We created on-line petitions and dropped off paper petitions at
local retailers. REMEMBER, petitions must be official – look at a website to find a
template for a legal petition document. Email every media outlet you can think of,
even ones you think wont bother. My first media interview was CBC Canada! It was
broadcasted live across Canada on CBC Radio one, and it was a huge success.
Local retailers reported lots of walk-in’s after it ran and 40 people joined the
Facebook page in 3 hours! People are interested, you just have to cast a wide net.
This is my list of media so far in 5 months.
CBC Radio
Victoria Times Colonist
Island Parent Magazine
Island Child Magazine
Real Parenting Radio Show on CFAX

16. Phase 4– Keep on Going!
This is the phase we are at right now, and its kind of tricky. The momentum has slow down a bit
after the initial media blitz – I mean there are only so many parenting magazines, newspapers and
radio stations in town – so start shaking the trees a bit. Ask your group for ideas for PR or petition
events. Retailers in the groups will be attending the Vancouver Island Baby show, and every booth
that sells cloth has a petition. This event sees more than 10,000 people over the two days, so its a
great opportunity to get the word out. We will also be having a petition event at Parliament where
we will be taking it to the streets to advocate and have people sign the petition. You have to keep
creative and don't let the momentum die! Post interesting conversations, create polls, post relevant
news, just keep people dialed in any way you can. We are already planning a big 2012 GCDC event
and we are even going to attempt the largest number of changes at a host site! Just keep busy
while you get those signatures in, and remember to pick up any hard copies and keep them in a
safe place. Also, keep a list of where your petitions are handy, so you can post them to a page if
someone asks, and so you can keep track of them. You want to keep it local when you can
(politicians pay attention to local tax payers) but anyone can sign. My list is below.
 Abby Sprouts - 3011 Gosworth Rd
 Hip Baby – 560 Johnson Street
 Jam Tots – 748 Goldstream
 Mothering Touch – 975 Fort Street
 www.gopetition.com/petitions/cloth-diaper-subsidy-in-victoria-bc-crd.html
 www.babybellhop.com/Cloth-Diaper-Subsidy-in-Victoria-BC-Petition.html
 www.persnicketycloth.com/cloth-diaper-subsidy
 www.oscargonewild.ca
 www.monkeydoodlez.com

17. Phase 5 – Lobbying the Government
By far the most daunting of tasks is the thought of standing up in a City Hall meeting or in front
of an Environmental Committee to lobby for your cause – BUT – the good news is after a year
of advocating and lobbying, you are kind of an expert now! Our friend on City Council gave me
some contact information and who to go to first, so try to get yourself an inside person who is
active in local politics to give you some advice. Our plan is laid our in our petition;
To: CRD Board of Directors, CRD Environmental Sustainability Committee, Operations
Director, Heartland Landfill.
PETITION for a Cloth Diaper Subsidy in VICTORIA BC (CRD)
We, the undersigned, wish to petition the CRD for a cloth diaper subsidy. Many other
Canadian municipalities (sample enclosed) are offering subsidies by way of cash
rebates, reimbursements, city services credits and subsidized free trial packs. The
environmental impact of disposable diapers should not be ignored. Over 92% of
single use diapers end up in landfills, representing about 4% of household solid
waste. We would like to have a subsidy in place for CRD families that are lowering
their environmental impact by choosing cloth, thus reducing gross municipal tonnage
and keeping single use products out of our landfills. The economic impact of using
cloth is also important. Families can save up to 80% by choosing reusable diapers.
Finally, we would like to support our local cloth retailers and small businesses by
adding the stipulation that a subsidy would only be eligible if the diapers are
purchased within the CRD. Therefore, your petitioners request that the CRD develop a
subsidy plan for the use of cloth diapers, and reduce waste in our local landfills while
supporting local small businesses.
I also have a list of follow up names to send this petition to, and I plan to call every
single person involved in environmental affairs, small businesses and the waste
industry to speak to them about it as well. I want the word out in the political
community that we are organized, persistent and driven. Its going to be all power
points and spreadsheets when the time comes, we plan to succeed.

18. I feel its very important to relay this last point to you as it was something that completely
caught me by surprise. Since I started in April 2011, I have had dozens of emails from people who
want to start their own subsidy. One retailer in Ontario told me that she got my email from a peer who
called me the diaper subsidy Guru. I thought that was really funny, but then I did a Google search. I tried
Cloth Diaper Subsidy, and my name was on 6 of the top 10 links. Wow. Photo and all. I was also listed in
every one of the top ten hits for Cloth Diapers Victoria, although mostly through retailer web pages who
posted our petition or facebook link. The point of this is MY name is out there with this subsidy campaign,
and that needs to be taken seriously. I am representing local businesses, families and also the RDA. The
same thing will more than likely happen to most people who undertake a subsidy campaign, so get
ready!
People will look to your for leadership, and you need to be ready to step into that role. To help others
with their campaigns, I wrote a manual of sorts, and it has samples of current cloth subsidies, a press
release, a petition template, media clips from the Victoria campaign and various links to RDA pamphlets,
such as talking points, which I have found invaluable. I cant stress the importance of organization,
responsibility and dedication with a subsidy campaign. Even if you work at it for years and do everything
you can, it may still get turned down. So why do it. Quite frankly, because its awesome. Its fun, rewarding
and very important work, both for the cloth diaper community and for our earth. It gets people talking and
thinking. I have made many new friends, and to be honest, I kind of like the panache of being the Guru,
even if it is a bit silly. So BE MOTIVATED, get out there and start up your campaign. The time and energy
involved is so worth the outcome. And if you need help, the RDA can give you the tools, just as they did
for me. Or you can email the Guru direct at clothdiapersvictoria@yahoo.com.

19.  Call your local waste / environmental
services.
 Share the benefits of cloth.
 Ask for ideas / contacts for encouraging
cloth diapers.
 Follow up.
 Involve the cloth diapering community.
(see handouts for more detailed instructions: RDA Cloth Diaper Incentives
Process and RDA Talking Points for Cloth Diaper Incentives Advocates)

20.  Megan Fernsler, Real Diaper Circle Leader
also working with her local social service
organization to get low-income families into
cloth diapers in Bloomsburg, PA

24.  Volunteers work with local charitable
organizations to get cloth diapers to low-
income clients.
 RDA is collecting data to create resources
similar to the incentives handouts.
◦ WE NEED YOUR HELP: Do you know someone who
has donated cloth diapers or received donations?
Please invite them to participate! (See link on
Diaper Aid Hub Facebook page.)

25.  Contact local social service agencies and
identify yourself as a cloth diaper expert,
available for consultation with clients who
want to save $$ on diapers.
 Work with agency to create cloth diaper
program. Components:
◦ Get diapers (grants, donations).
◦ Educate program managers about cloth diapers.
◦ Decide how to identify clients.
◦ Match diapers to clients.
◦ Educate and support cloth diaper recipients.

26.  An eloquent plea to join (or renew your
membership in) the Real Diaper Association
(with a reminder that U.S. donations are tax-
deductible…).
 realdiapers.org

27.  Matt Guckin, Chair of the RDIA Incentives
Committee
 Join the RDIA committee to work nationally to
support and instigate local incentives efforts.
 Join the conversation on this subject at
http://facebook.com/DiaperAidHub