Sloomb | Sustainablebabyish Review and Giveaway

April 11th, 2011
10:36am

In this day and age, many are looking to companies as examples of how to make our world a better place. It might seems hard as an individual to bring about change and "do what is right" but a company has more resources (and a pr firm). Sloomb | Sustainablebabyish is one of those companies. They set the bar high and want to help facilitate the same in their customers. Sloomb | Sustainablebabyish is a wonderful cloth diapering resource. They have a line of fitted cloth diapers (sized and multi-sized) and flats along with an amazing line up of wool (covers and longies). When you purchase a diaper from Sloomb | Sustainablebabyish, a tree is planted in Southeast Asia to offset the carbon generated during the making of the diapers.

Organic bamboo fleece fitteds and Knit wool covers (Taken from Sloomb website)

Sloomb has a whole page devoted to their Ethos (the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as manifested in its beliefs and aspirations). They use organic or an organic blend of fabrics, use low impact dyes, donate seconds to communities in need and run a paperless office. I also love that the mailer I received my review products in is compostable and recyclable. Sloomb | Sustainablebabyish have also ensured that their products will last and they hope that when finished using them, they will be passed on. Most products are handmade here in the US by women getting paid fair wages. Some products are manufactured responsibly in China.

The Review:

I had the chance to review an Organic Fleece Bamboo Fitted in Natural with Lemon contrast size small and a Wool Cover in Mocha size small. The Organic Fleece Bamboo Fitted is a sized system that features a snap closure, snap in six layer liner, crossover tabs and a snap down umbilical cord front (XS size only). Included is a matching three layer doubler. There is a total of 11 absorbent layers of thirsty bamboo.

Organic Fleece Bamboo Fitted Diaper:
Ease of Use: This diaper was a joy to use. The snap closure offers a great fit. The elastic on the legs and back is very sturdy. It's unlike anything I have seen in a diaper before. There is elastic at the front of the diaper as well. There are a total of four snaps you have to secure with one crossover snap on the right wing of the diaper.

Fit: We never had any leaks with this diaper. Not even with newborn poo. Like I said before, the elastic is really sturdy and sometimes left marks on Charlotte's extremely chubby legs. The serging on the legs sometimes left her with chaffed thighs that got better with a little coconut oil rub. Not the trimmest diaper but never disappointing. We have a large bamboo fleece fitted that James has used and after Charlotte grew out of the small she went right into the large no problem (yeah for crossover tabs). This is great and economical so you don't have to purchase the medium size.
Performance: I loved the thirstiness of the bamboo! This is a go to in my house for overnights. Paired with the Sloomb | Sustainablebabyish wool cover, mornings were always dry! I have to say, I never needed to use the extra doubler that is included. During the days, I would often leave Charlotte without a cover in this diaper and she would be dry to the touch on the outside after a couple hours.

Care: The diaper washed up really well. No pilling and it retained its original softness. I did notice some shrinkage to the diaper (which Sloomb says they account for in their measurements). If you decide to line dry, try fluffing the diapers up in the dryer for 10 minutes or so.

Materials: A blend of Organic bamboo fleece (70%) and Organic cotton (30%)

Cost: $24.95. Click here to purchase.

Overall Opinion: Sloomb | Sustainablebabyish knows what they are doing! These diapers have held their own and look just like they did the day I got them. I've had no loose strings, or any malfunctions. The pricepoint is high at almost $25.00 but to me, containing pooplosions is well worth it! Fitteds and covers are my preffered system for that reason; it contains everything. If you sign up for Sloomb's newsletter, you can get informed when they have sales. The quality of these diapers is great and will stand the test of time. A nighttime diapering solution that every family should try. They also offer a snapless multi sized (essentially a one size fitted that can be snappi-ed or pinned) that is more economical.

The Wool Cover:

The Wool Cover is a double layer knit with a high rise to fit a variety of diapers. These cover come in many different colors that are made using öko-tex certified wool yarns & dye.

Ease of Use: This cover is of the pull on variety. Not the easiest to get on a small, newer baby (they offer it in an extra small size and I bet it is the cutest little cover ever!) but when baby gets more cooporative it's very easy. If you can put pants on baby, you can do this. In fact, these covers actually take the place of pants. Plus they are offered in a variety of great colors that can coordinate with any outfit. I'd love to see a snap on wrap from Sloomb | Sustainablebabyish.

Fit: At first, the small cover was big on Charlotte (when she first wore it, the cover came up almost to her baby boobs). She grew into it though and it now sits just above her belly button. This give you full wetness protection and allows you to use prefold, flats or fitteds. The cover can accomidate really fluffy bums as well as trim diapers. I loved this cover so much that when Sloomb had a buy one get one half off sale recently, I bought 2 covers in the next size up!

Performance: This cover held up wonderfully. Charlotte doesn't do too much moving around yet but the cover is really well made. The cover worked great overnight as wool holds 30% of its body weight in moisture. Even then, it won't feel outright wet, just damp.I also loved the fact that when wearing this cover, I didn't have to find a pair of pants for Charlotte. The knit has kept a nice apperance. It has just now started to "fuzz". If you use a sweater shaver, it'll look good as new.

Care: Sloomb | Sustainablebabyish ships their covers without lanolizing them. When you puchase a cover, you get a sample of wool wash and lanolin. This was my first attempt at lanolizing anything and Erin and everyone on the Sloomb facebook page was very helpful! I added too much lanolin and added it at the wrong temperature and was sure I had ruined the new wool cover! There were spots of lanolin everywhere that I thought would stain. After talking with her, she told me to try to scrub out the spot with warm water and some dish soap. These cover can really take some scrubbing. Erin told me not to be afraid to really work out the stains and that gave me so much confidence when working with wool! These covers have held up better than any wool cover that I've used! For more wool care information, visit here.

Materials: 93% wool and 7% lycra. This allows for some stretch.

Cost: $42.95. Click here to purchase.

Overall Opinion: These are my favorite covers! Well worth the money. The cover should last well beyond one child. The double knit is very durable and helps regulate your baby's temperature. The colors are vivid and once you have one, you'll want another! Wool is a great fabric for procrastinators (raises hand), because if you have two to four (or more) covers in your line up, you can let one dry and use the others. Wool contains lanolin which neutralizes urine and allows you to go up to 3 weeks between washings. The Sloomb | Sustainablebabyish wool covers are something that everyone should have in their stash! A must have in my book!

The Giveaway:

Sloomb | Sustinablebabyish is giving away a pair of their knit longies to one very lucky reader!

Mandatory Entry:

• Visit Sloomb and tell me your favorite item.
  
• Leave an email address where you can be reached.

Extra Entries:

• Become a fan of Sloomb on Facebook.
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• Tweet about this giveaway. Leave a URL. You can use: "#win a pair of @sloomb Sustainable babyish knit longies. Visit http://bit.ly/gO8seO to enter. @knockedupnursin #clothdiapers " (can be tweeted once a day until the giveaway ends)
• Follow Knocked Up and Nursing via GFC *Plus 2 entries*
  
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• Blog about this giveaway and link to this page/or my blog.*Plus 5 entries* Leave a URL.
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If you have questions, don't hesitate to email me.


Giveaway will run from Thursday April 11th, 2011 at 10:00pm (CST) until April 30th, 2011 at 11:59pm CST. Winner will be chosen using random.org's true random number generator upon the close of the contest. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hrs to respond or a new winner will be chosen. I was given a product to review and my opinions on the product are my own. Must be 18 year old to enter. Open to US and Canadian residents only. Subject to changes.

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