[The 90’s raw: Diapers]

Raw tape for the award-winning series The 90's. The videomaker follows a delivery man for Riteway around Manhattan, learning about the service his company provides--door-to-door cloth diaper service. He also interviews mothers in their apartments and Central Park about their reasons for choosing to use cloth diapers and this service (their reasons were mostly environmental).

00:00Copy video clip URL The diaper man, Felix, gets down from his truck and explains that he has been working in the cloth diaper business in Manhattan for five years, and that the market has gone up: “Where I had one, I have about thirty customers now.”

01:00Copy video clip URL Felix enters an apartment building to visit a newer customer, and Felix says that Earth Day encouraged many people to turn to his business.

02:45Copy video clip URL Back at the car, shots of Felix doing some paper work and shots of the exterior of his delivery van.

03:45Copy video clip URL Felix begins to drive through Manhattan to the next location.

04:45Copy video clip URL Felix says he never has any trouble with diaper customers, and now “all of a sudden” it’s been a booming business, since the beginning of the year.

06:50Copy video clip URL Felix says that cloth diapers are even more popular in Brooklyn, perhaps because it’s more residential. He says that it is less expensive than buying disposable diapers, so everyone should be using this service.

08:23Copy video clip URL Felix imagines that millions of diapers are produced every year, and the interviewer says that in fact 12 billion diapers are manufactured yearly. They go on to discuss Felix’s children, who wore disposable diapers because of convenience, and Felix says he didn’t know anyone who used a service when his children were young.

11:50Copy video clip URL The van arrives at the next location, and as Felix delivers the diapers, the videomaker shoots the surrounding city and sky.

13:10Copy video clip URL On the way to the next location, Felix says that it is rare for mothers to be confused about how to use the cloth diapers, or to complain. They discuss the details of the service –how many diapers are received and how much it costs–but Felix isn’t familiar with all the prices.

15:06Copy video clip URL Felix enters the next building, delivers the fresh diapers, and picks up the dirty ones. He then does more paperwork, and sets off for the next job.

18:10Copy video clip URL A street shot of garbage.

18:25Copy video clip URL The two arrive at the next apartment building and continue to discuss the boom in business.

20:26Copy video clip URL A woman who uses the service is interviewed. She says it is the first time she is using a diaper service, with her first baby. She switched from disposable diapers because of environmental concerns, and also decided it was physically easier, and cheaper, and the baby likes them too.

22:16Copy video clip URL The woman at the next location also says that environmental concerns were a big factor, but adds that the cotton of the diapers is better than plastic. She says that the Riteway service is very friendly. She used the plastic diapers for some months, but changed because she didn’t like to throw away so many diapers. For her, disposable diapers were cheaper, but the cloth ones are worth it in the end.

27:00Copy video clip URL Shots of the city, driving through traffic, and Felix delivering more diapers.

31:00Copy video clip URL Having left Felix, the videomaker tapes a large building being constructed. The videomaker talks to a man on the street, who also thinks that the plastic diapers are an environmental hazard, and thinks that landfills and waste are a huge problem. He goes on to criticize a new building going up as also bad for the environment.

34:29Copy video clip URL The videomaker takes to a woman in the park, who uses cloth diapers, because they are environmentally friendly and are more comfortable for her child. She does not even use a diaper service, and washes the cloth diapers herself because of the chemicals that the diaper service uses. Many of her friends are using cloth nowadays, and she thinks that “things are changing” even though the perception is that disposable diapers are more convenient. She then shows the diapers that she uses.

38:10Copy video clip URL Shots of a park, and of a children’s playground.

41:26Copy video clip URL A woman in the park who uses disposable diapers is interviewed. She says she tried biodegradable disposable diapers, but they did not work out. She is concerned about the ecology of diaper services, because of the “chlorine and such” and thinks that those chemicals also pollute. She thinks there is no good choice.

44:20Copy video clip URL Another woman is interviewed, who uses disposable diapers. She said she considered a diaper service, and has the same concerns about the chemicals, because her child develops a diaper rash very easily. She also thinks there are many other environmental problems, like garbage bags, and not only diapers are a concern.

47:24Copy video clip URL A man who is taking care of his niece is interviewed. He says that his sister is switching to a diaper service in about a week. The man, however, thinks that convenience is more important, so he “believe[s] in disposables” for the time-being. He says he hopes that economics will encourage disposable diaper makers to become more environmentally friendly. He is concerned about all trash, especially because he currently finds recycling to be very difficult, but that in the end it comes down to economics. He then feeds the baby.

52:43Copy video clip URL Shots of a park, and children playing.

55:54Copy video clip URL A woman who uses disposable diapers is interviewed, and she says the disposable diapers are easier. She says they have considered a service, but decided against it. She is only slightly concerned with the accumulation of diapers in landfills, and might be interested in biodegradable diapers.

57:29Copy video clip URL Children playing near a pond.

58:18Copy video clip URL A woman is interviewed, whose child is not using diapers anymore. She says that disposable diapers are easy, and that she didn’t even consider a service and she wouldn’t in the future.

58:57Copy video clip URL End of tape.