The Other Economy

We've been hit pretty hard this year. Not only by a hurricane that left us isolated from the rest of the world for a couple of weeks, but also by 2 branches: one fell from a tree and destroyed our car's front, the other is part of the judicial system and took all our money (apparently being disabled is a crime).

But it's not only our individual misfortunes, we've been dealing with lack of money, there's a defficit that sucks up all the cash and slows down every single aspect of our lives. From longer times in airport to unemployment due to budget cuts, we're all feeling it. Day by day I see people striving to get some cash from some place.

And then, the cloth diaper hunt came. Being new to this and having made my stash via ebay, amazon and 2 manufacturers' online stores, I had no idea there was a world out there. I'm done with qualifying for all the prizes, who knows, maybe I'll win my first giveaway. But that's not my point here.

I discovered there's a world out there. Dozens of online retailers and tons of products made by small family businesses. There are brands of cloth diapers I had never heard of, carriers, balms, toys, cleaning products, outfits, menstrual cups, etc. Tons of goodies manufactured here and sold online.

Then I went to the Co-op. I have to say it was a disappointment. You would expect all this virtual world coming to a reality and touchable and find the same corporations than you see in big supermarkets, but with overpriced products whose artificial chemical contents is considerably less. In the end, you end up patronizing big brands with different names. It's surprising that in a seemingly small business echo friendly oriented place, you cannot find anything related to cloth diapers, soft carriers and such.

I don't know what will take for this world to get boosted and back on track. But I do believe that the money needs to be circulating, and giving it to a small retailer and or a local manufacturer will ensure that it will continue to do so for at least one more transaction.