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KITCHENER – Laurie Diwakar got into the cloth diaper business for strictly personal reasons: she had just had a baby, and wasn't able to find good-quality, inexpensive cloth diapers.

She had no idea that, seven years later, she would be heading a company that is enjoying booming growth, sourcing its materials internationally and shipping to more than 20 countries around the world, and is offering more than 2,000 different types of product.

Her company, Rearz Inc., sells cloth diapers, plastic pants and diaper covers, as well as second-hand children's clothing, from the company's Kitchener location as well as online. Diwakar and her two employees make some products here, mainly custom items and diaper covers. She sells in every size from preemie to adult XXX large, with most products ranging in price from $5 to $50.

Diwakar first began to contemplate running a diaper business after the birth of her first child seven years ago.

"I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers, both for environmental and health reasons, and it also really cost-effective as well … But I didn't like the cloth that was on the market. It just didn't meet my needs — some of them didn't fit well, or it was insanely expensive."

So she tried her hand at making diapers and covers herself, experimenting with different waterproof materials and designs. "I did prototypes and tested them on my kids for years: which ones fit the best, which would wash well, which could tolerate higher heats in the wash for sanitizing," she said.

The very first diaper she sewed took about three hours to make. She became more efficient, and sold the diapers on eBay to get a sense of what would sell at what price. She had enjoying studying marketing in high school, had been involved in Junior Achievement, and had worked for nine years in the health food business, where she learned about purchasing, marketing, price points, negotiating with suppliers and so on.

Those first online sales made her aware of an even larger market to be tapped, in adult diapers. "I was getting feedback from adults: 'Could you make this in an adult size?' "

She incorporated two and a half years ago, and moved the business from her home to the current location on King Street East about a year ago. She also bought out another home-based business, AC Medical Supplies of London, Ont., which increased her inventory, materials supply, customer base and product line.

Cloth diapers have many benefits, she said: they're natural, comfortable, create much less waste, and are far cheaper over the long run. "Even if you buy the really expensive set of cloth diapers, you're looking at $400, versus $3,500 per child over the time of using disposables. And I used the same cloth diapers for each of my kids. It's definitely a huge cost savings."

Cloth appeals to adults as well, because it is cheaper for those on a fixed income, and is discreet: no crinkling paper, and no large boxes to lug in from the store every week or two.

A company in Pakistan that specialized in making goods for the hospital market now makes many of her products and is ISO qualified, operates on fair trade and fair wage policies, and doesn't use child labour. "That was important to me," Diwakar said.

Her company has seen a huge boom in adult diaper sales, which have increased 25 per cent in the past year. She expects to see similar growth over the next few years.

There is a large market for adult diapers, she said, with an estimated 30 million incontinent adults in North America. "You have working adults, disabled adults, group homes, nursing homes, hospitals," Diwakar noted.

She also learned about another large potential market: adults who wear diapers for sex play, rather than out of need.

Today, about 70 per cent of Rearz's customers are looking for adult products, and about two-thirds of those are what she calls "play-based" rather than needs-based customers. Most of these are men, many of whom have a fondness for pink, she said.

The fetish is commonplace in places such as Germany and the United Kingdom, she says. These customers like the juvenile association of diapers — she has adult products with prints of teddy bears, clowns, elephants and puppies. "I sell 10 of those before I sell one order of a plain white one …. It's an unbelievably huge market."

Even adult customers who buy the diapers out of need like a bit of variety, she added. They may start out buying plain diapers, then come in for covers in a variety of colours, or even a bit of lace trim. What starts out as addressing a medical condition can turn "into something they can enjoy and have a bit of fun with."

She is happy to provide product for all her customers, whatever their motivation. "As a business, I think you'd be foolish not to offer your customers what they're asking for." She also says it's important to her to be respectful and discreet. "It's a sensitive subject, whether it's need-based or not."

Rearz Inc. 3310 King St. E., Kitchener 519-745-1000 www.rearz.ca Employees: 3

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