If you’ve been following the Baby Carriers Downunder blog, you may have noticed we don’t write a lot of posts along the lines of “OMG! I so love [insert brand here]“. In fact, we don’t have any posts that sing the praises of a particular brand. It’s not because we don’t want the sponsorship dollars, or because we are all hard-core DIY-only babywearers. It’s because Baby Carriers Downunder is independent. And to quote Stan Lee, “with great power comes great responsibility”. Which is far more relevant than my other favourite thing to tell my kids, “with pants comes dignity”.

Being independent means we can talk about the features that make a carrier fabulous or FAIL, or the ways to use and abuse a particular style of carrier. But because we don’t name brands, we have no financial incentive to promote one carrier over another, nor risk the wrath of a manufacturer for suggesting a variation on their instructions. And we can more easily get Baby Carriers Downunder working with other non-profit parent support organisations, because we’re here to promote ALL forms of babywearing that support healthy babies and parents/carers.

If you’ve been following my posts on this blog for a while, you might also have picked up that I work in the industry. And yet I cannot post about my own business here. So why do I spend time writing for Baby Carriers Downunder? Because every person that is helped along the way to successful babywearing is a good thing, regardless of where they get their gear. I’m an addict that wants to get more users hooked, and I don’t care what dealer they go to.

Babywearing needs to become mainstream, it needs to be normalised, if we are to have a viable long term industry. More importantly, babywearing needs to be normalised so that parents can more easily find and use a tool that makes their job easier. Nothing makes me happier than having someone tell me how much better their baby sleeps, or that they no longer wear baby chuck five times a day, or that they can now get out of the house with their baby, or simply that their back feels good now that they have a good sling and the skills to use it.

If we’re going to normalise babywearing, we need independent blogs and support groups. It’s not hard to tout your own brand all over the interwebz. But we have bigger things to consider here. Things like the concept behind babywearing, safety tips that apply to ALL carriers, and what makes a well-constructed carrier at home or in a commercial factory. People who want to discuss the many brands do so in our Google Group forum. But as bloggers, we realise that what we say carries a different level of credibility, and is rated differently by search engines. We want blog readers to take this material as a starting point in their search for the perfect sling for their needs - not just look up a list of the Top 5 Best Baby Carriers Ever and buy the one that’s in their price range.

So if your comment recommending a brand name carrier disappears from our blog, or we don’t bother publishing your media release about your new baby carrier product, please don’t be offended. We’re just enjoying our babywearing independence in a brand-free zone. And if you’re looking for the Top 5 Best Baby Carriers Ever, here’s the list in my personal order of preference (which will change tomorrow, as I feel about baby carriers the way most women feel about shoes):

• Mei Tai
• Short Wrap
• Soft Structured Carrier (SSC)
• Long Wrap
• Ring Sling

Oh look, useful information without brand names! See, it is possible Now go argue the crap out of my top 5 list…

There’s nothing that gets an internet babywearing forum jiving like the prospect of a new silk wrap. Or a hemp wrap. Or a linen. Or a wool. Blended fibers are the wrap du jour!

We’ve talked before about how creating interest in a brand translates to clever marketing on the part of a wrap or carrier manufacturer. That’s certainly the case here, but there’s more to this than marketing. Blended fiber wraps are also about market positioning.

It’s a fact generally acknowledged that some blends are more supportive than others. It’s a fact little discussed, however, that the tag of “supportiveness” is a powerful marketing tool. Certain wrap brands are considered to be very supportive (this is an independent blog and we try not name names very often, but Hopp and Storchenwiege are two that come to mind). Didymos cotton wraps are not often considered as supportive as the previous two brands, however, their blended fiber wraps are often recommended on those terms. The introduction of blended fibers into the Didymos stable has resulted in a decisive change in attitude towards the brand. When asked to recommend a wrap on the basis of support, the answer now includes a recognition of the Didymos brand. This translates to more sales in a new (niche) corner of the (niche) wrap market.

Other wrap manufacturers, however, are following suit and weaving wraps with blends of silk, hemp and even bamboo. Some of these will be considered supportive, others will have qualities that will give them their own recognition. But by decisively leading the way on blended fibers, Didymos has the edge in the market.

Hold onto that trigger finger (and your credit card balance). There’s more fun coming our way!

How do you feel about blended fibers? Are they the wrap du jour for you? Or do you think they’re over-rated when compared to their cotton counterparts? Leave a comment, enquiring credit cards want to know!

There are special editions galore at some wrap manufacturers and at others, there are none at all but a very limited quantity of certain wraps in regular production. What gives?

These are two different ways that carrier manufacturers develop a brand awareness and interest. Didymos, for example, is known for its special editions. By having a regular, timed releases, interest in the brand is at a constant high, especially in online communities. Regular checking of the manufacturer and distributor’s website by a large number of people ensures a sizeable (and profitable) number of “finger slip” or impulse purchases.

How can Didymos produce so many wraps in such limited quantities? Many of the threads used in different colourways and styles appear to be the same. There are also a limited number of weaves in production at any given time. Materials are bought in large quantities and the looms are set. Combinations are changed and the wraps are produced at an economically viable cost.

Another strategy is that used by Vatanai. Notice how their homepage is less sophisticated than Didymos? They have a small stable of colourways in production and rarely produce a new wrap (rarely compared to Didymos, anyway!). However, they have discovered their own method of raising brand awareness. The elusive Pamir.

The same online community that adores the special releases straight from Didymos have a similar regard and appreciation for the handwoven wrap produced by Vatanai. Significantly, Vatanai only produces one handwoven wrap and then in very limited quantities. Judging from the prices listed as retail at Lemon Balm Essentials, Vatanai’s main North American distributor, I would hazard a guess that they do not, in fact, even make a profit (or very much of one) on their most popular item. Out of production for a period, Pamir is very popular. Online auctions of the wrap routinely reach the US $1000 mark and beyond, but retail prices start at Canadian $225. What’s in it for Vatanai?

Brand awareness, for one thing. The more we talk about “Mr P.”, the more people head to the website. Even once they realize they can’t get Pamir tomorrow, they’re more inclined to try other Vatanai wraps- perhaps fall in love with another colourway they hadn’t considered before and purchase that one instead (or in the meantime).

So, next time you’re staring at the screen and your finger is slipping over the “checkout” icon, think about why you’re at that particular website at that particular time. And then buy the wrap anyway. It’s gorgeous.

There’s a lot of things KMart are good at. Making commonly used products available to the masses at an affordable price pretty much sums it up. So if baby slings are so great, why can’t we get more of them in big department stores?

First of all, the benefits of babywearing are still not known or understood well enough. If all parents knew they could add a sling to their parenting toolbox to settle cranky babies, help with bonding and reduce PND, and get out and about with the hassle of a bulky stroller, you can bet that babywearing would be more popular. But the fact is, many parents just don’t know of any reason to use a sling other than keeping their hands free for a quick trip to the shops. So the department stores offer them carriers that meet that limited need at a price their customers are prepared to pay.

Second, the mass manufacturing method works against quality baby slings. I won’t even start on the CPSIA regulations in the USA, although this will have an effect in future on the Australian market, simply because so many of our products are based on their US marketability. For a product to be sold in big department stores, it needs to be available in large quantities at short notice. When a store wants another fifty slings, they will order them for delivery within a couple of days. Multiply that by the number of stores in any given chain (KMart has 182 stores in Australia and New Zealand), and it’s easy to see why big department stores require mass-manufactured products. There are implications for fair working conditions and quality control that can be daunting for designers considering the move to factory production. For a handmade product to get into the mass-manufactured market-space, they need to establish brand reputation and popularity in the boutique market, providing the designer with the cash to contract a factory to manufacture their product (the standard factory minimum is 10,000 per colourway). Brand reputation and popularity also convinces the big stores that the product is worth adding to the inventory. And this popularity is the tricky bit…

You see, there’s no one carrier that is perfect for everyone. Some people prefer the quick learning curve of a soft structured carrier, or a stretchy wrap. Others go for the quick on-off in a sized pouch, with no adjustment required. The versatility of wraps is perfection for some, while for others ring slings are the perfect compromise between flexible fit and quick on-off. With so many different body shapes and babywearing needs, it’s just not possible to find a single carrier that perfectly suits hundreds of thousands of users. Nor should we try to please all of the people, all of the time.

One of the biggest benefits of small production runs or handmade is the ability to respond quickly to consumer demand. More colourways, or prints that change with the seasons; pouches in five different sizes instead of just three; the ability to produce custom or semi-custom slings to suit individual needs.

Instead, we have the best of both worlds available to us: a wide variety of handmade, boutique-style slings to perfectly suit everyone; and a limited selection of mass-manufactured carriers to suit the budget and babywearing needs of those who are happy to compromise for budget or availability reasons. What we need to do is increase awareness of the benefits of babywearing, as well as increasing awareness of the handmade marketplace. Parents will better understand what to look for in a sling and its potential in their parenting toolbox. With increasing demand for quality slings from educated parents, the small independent boutiques will quickly respond with a wider range. So the end result is better support for a wider range of slings - something for everyone.