Scottsdale mom finds success in cloth diapers

Twenty years ago, Jakki Liberman's new daughter was allergic to the stay-dry shields on disposable diapers.

So the Scottsdale mother of two had to switch to cloth diapers at a time when only avid environmentalists who worried about filling up landfills used them.

"But you don't go from disposables to pins and rubber pants," Liberman said.

So the graphic designer sewed up a cloth diaper with a waterproof outer cover that attached with Velcro and could survive lots of hot-water washes.

Her creations were a hit at moms' and tots' get-togethers, so Liberman decided to hire some people and make more. That launched her company, Bumkins Finer Baby Products.

In the two decades since, Liberman has moved her business from her garage to an ever-expanding design studio and distribution center at Scottsdale Airpark, hired a bike products manufacturer in Phoenix to make products to her specifications, and added several products, from bibs to diaper bags.

She was approached in 2004 by Dr. Seuss brand-owners to make and sell licensed products, so she added several exclusive items, including, of course, diapers and bibs featuring striped-hatted cats, Hortons, Whos and other Seuss things.

And she became a choice supplier to such major retailers as Babies 'R' Us, Costco.com, Amazon.com and Target.com.

Cloth diapers were never a huge hit, but her bibs were, Liberman said. She made the bibs from the same soft, colorful, waterproof-but-hot-water-washable material she designed for the exterior of the diapers.

"Bibs are mainstream, but mostly you could only find cloth diapers in the 'granola' stores," she said. "If you look at the dollars and cents, we are a bib company. But for me, the bibs are the springboard to get our company name out. Bibs bring people to our diapers."

And cloth diapers are suddenly hot, Liberman said, fueled by new concerns about chemicals in products made for babies.

So many people are asking that orders for Bumkins cloth diapers are up 45 percent from a year ago, she said.

While some Babies 'R' Us, Bed, Bath and Beyond and various independent baby stores carry some Bumkins products, shoppers can get the full product line only at www.bumkins.com.

That changes in a few weeks for local shoppers.

Bumkins was overflowing its Scottsdale office, so now the company is expanding into space next door with enough room to set up an outlet store. Liberman said she hopes to open the new retail space in September.

The Bumkins store at 7802 E. Gray Road is "tentatively" scheduled to open Sept. 17, said Ashley Andrews, company spokeswoman.