A prominently placed headline in a February issue of the New York Times about a polluted canal in Brooklyn mentioned a cloth diaper service there. “Diaperkind,” it read, “started by two young women five years ago, is a cloth diaper service that makes deliveries throughout the city.” Aha! How nice to discover that not only is that facet of our industry still alive, but a few flicks of a computer reveal that it’s thriving nationwide. 
 
In some instances, the service is a stunted version of textile rental—purveyors merely dump a three-month-or-so supply of diapers for the customer ...