I noticed in the toy section the other day that dolls nappies are still using the old 90’s style plastic design for the dolls (being an all white plastic backed nappy with a ‘character’ style taped landing zone). Which I thought was odd considering it’s been over two decades now since the ‘cloth’ backed introduction into baby nappies began. You’d think they would of updated the design.
Not that I am complaining though as It feels like a little nod to the classic disposable nappy that originally defined (at least to me) what a nappy is and looks like. These cloth backed versions that we have today don’t really feel like true nappies to me. It also means that in some way the children of today are still ‘using’ plastic backed nappies albeit for a different purpose.
Edit: This isn’t the only example either, I’ve found at least two others that are still plastic backed as well and have the same design of the taped landing zone.
Presumably it isn’t a simple exercise to re-engineer the shell of a nappy from plastic to the cloth-like. It probably is not worth the effort for the manufacturer unless (a) there is huge market for doll nappies and (b) that market is demanding a change (bad pun very much intended).
Not that many of them have them anymore due to renovations (at least here) but the diaper dispenser that Walmart’s used to have in their washrooms have plastic backed ones in those as well.
I have always wanted to see (another) bathroom with diaper dispensers! I recall seeing one or a few when I was little, but did not have the thought or courage to take some. I had always felt a little joy seeing references to diapers even without the ability to experience it, like just seeing diapers on the shelves in the aisle or, related to this thread, seeing those dolls that wore and used diapers.
One of my friends has a Baby Rapunzel doll who wears the crinkly kind of padding. I’m pretty sure that they’re Baby Alive diapers. I might have to ask him if he returns online.
When my daughter was little and had a doll, the doll diapers in the store were very pricey…so I’d buy a pack of preemie diapers for her doll. Much cheaper.
Just a master print pretty much. Young kids woulden’t really care if they are “authentic” to modern design so it’s both cheaper and easier for them to keep producing the old design and style.
I recently was at a yard sale with my sister and one of the vendors was selling old dolls and characters. There were some Cabbage Patch Kids dolls and I remember they would come in the packaging in a real baby diaper. So we were browsing the selection and I picked up a couple and sure enough the dolls had a classic all white plastic diaper on them. I wonder if new Cabbage Patch dolls have real baby diapers on nowadays.
You sure it wasn’t just put on the doll by the person that first bought it? Disposable diapers aren’t very durable over the long term, even on a doll, and that would seem to be a poor choice from a manufacturer?
Nope…Cabbage Patch dolls were packaged wearing an outfit and authentic white plastic baby diaper underneath. There were Cabbage patch diapers available to change the one they came with I suspect over time. They were plastic diapers with cabbage Patch prints on the plastic shell. My sisters all had the dolls and also the Cabbage Patch diapers to change them with when the original white ones wore out.