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Disposables unpin Snowy White Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Roberta Machado is throwing in the towel - and the diaper - on Friday, when the Snow White Diaper Service closes after nearly 50 years in Southern Oregon. She and her sister, Angela Machado, say they can no longer compete with the price and convenience of disposable diapers. Diaper Service closure will end an era By JONEL ALECCIA In the diaper service business, it's all about the bottom line. That's the sad truth facing two Medford sisters who say declining profits and increased competition - think Huggies, think Pampers - are forcing them to close Southern Oregon's oldest supplier of cloth diapers on demand. Come Friday, the washers at Snow White Diaper Service and Laundry will stop churning for the first time in nearly 50 years. Owner Angela Machado, 49, and her sister, Roberta Machado, 57, say it attests to the decline of an industry and a change in society at large. "It's the end of an era, that's what I feel like," says Roberta Machado, whose two 30-something children were swaddled in nothing but cloth. Time was, every baby wore cloth diapers and, often, plastic pants. Disposable diapers, first marketed to World War II working mothers, were too expensive for daily use until the early 1970s. Diaper services such as Snow White held their own for decades by catering to parents with low fees and the promise of pure, natural cotton cloth. The Machado sisters bought the diaper service at 815-C N. Central Ave. three years ago, attracted by what looked like a tidy profit on paper. But the business required more capital investment than they anticipated just as enthusiasm for diaper service seemed to be waning. "What we were battling is the thinking that using cloth is more difficult than using paper," Roberta Machado says. "It was young mothers who found the whole idea of doing a baby difficult anyway and cloth was just too much." The sisters inherited 90 clients and gradually boosted that number to nearly 120. That's about the same number served in the mid-1980s, when Jackson County's population was considerably smaller. All told, the service washes, dries and delivers 2,000 diapers each week, estimates Angela Machado. Average clients pay between $40 and $50 a month for the service. Most Snow White clients live in Ashland, where a large concentration of parents seek diaper service mostly because they don't want to dump disposables into landfills or put plastic products next to their babies' skin. Count Rachel Bendat in that group. The Ashland mother of two has used the Snow White service since the birth of 4-year-old Zachariah and his brother, Gabriel, 16 months. She's distressed that Friday will mark the end of stacks of snowy diapers delivered directly to her door. "I'm really sad about it," says Bendat, 31, who prefers cloth diapers, but says she uses biodegradable paper pants about half the time. And Bendat is not alone, Roberta Machado says. "We've already had a lot of crying parents in here," she says. But fans of diaper service are a dwindling crew. Modern disposable diapers lure parents with custom sizing, gender-specific padding, snug elastic leg holes, easy-fix tabs and enough absorbency to master any baby's bottle. Pair those features with a cost that now hovers around 25 cents each and cloth diapers don't stand much of a chance. Even Bendat admits paper diapers make life with two preschoolers easier. "I have concerns, and yet the convenience wins out, so I use them," she says. Still, Angela Machado says cloth diapers have their virtues. They force parents to change babies more frequently, for instance. And they make great cleaning cloths when baby gets bigger. In fact, there's an entire group of people with no babies who might mourn the passing of the diaper service. The Machados have sold dozens of stained or frayed diapers to car enthusiasts, who prize them for their softness and durability. A dozen used newborn diapers sell for $5; a dozen new large diapers are $30. Judging from the snowy stacks still on the shelves, there are plenty to go around. Call 772-2565 for details. The Machados still don't have buyers for the 85-pound washers that have been in use since 1952 or the spinner of the same vintage. The building has been sold, so when the equipment is moved out, it will be the end of Snow White Diaper Service and Laundry. "We really hate to see it go," Roberta Machado says. "We really do." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.