What Sets Judes Apart from Other Cloth Diapers? A User Experience Report.

 

What makes Judes different from other cloth diapers? I asked myself that too! Because obviously the startup “Judes Family” seems to be doing something differently (and rightly so). I read through the customer feedback: The interesting thing is that many of the customers had apparently previously used disposable diapers. The founders Nele and Leon thus seem to be succeeding in reaching parents outside the cloth-diaper bubble with their product.

Because let’s be honest: Most cloth diapers are designed for cloth-diaper lovers for whom nothing but cloth diapers is an option anyway. That is exactly what has frustrated me about cloth diapers so far. Many of the existing systems are simply too complicated to use! I know people who find it abhorrent to put plastic diapers on their children—but who have become so frustrated with complicated cloth diapers that they are simply no longer an option for them. That really makes me sad. After all, diapering with cloth is not only much more environmentally friendly, but also healthier for the baby.

I think I can claim to be an expert in the world of cloth diapers. I have not only diapered my own children with cloth diapers, but have been dealing intensively with sustainable diapering solutions for years. I have taken a very close look at pretty much every cloth diaper in the world.

All the more delighted I was when Nele and Leon approached me and asked if I would like to compare their Judes with other systems. I did… And one thing up front: I think the startup can rightfully claim to have developed “The simplest washable diaper in the world.”

I am thrilled.

But let’s start from the beginning! In this article you will read:

• Why Judes are comparatively easy to handle
• Why washing with Judes is so quick
• Why Judes are so good at preventing leaks in comparison
• Why Judes are thinner than other cloth diapers
• Why Judes also work very well as a night diaper (12 hours!)
• Why Judes are particularly healthy and sustainable
• Conclusion: A brief summary of my results

Or to put it differently: You will read how you can diaper your child gently on the skin and plastic-free so that they develop healthy and happy. You will also learn how you can achieve this easily and without additional effort.

Why Judes are comparatively easy to use

A Judes diaper consists of two combinable parts, the absorbent material (inner diaper) and a moisture barrier (cover). When developing the diaper, it was especially important to Nele and Leon to make diapering with cloth diapers as easy as possible for parents. Because, let’s be honest, the existing cloth diaper market offers many things, but above all a lot of different diaper systems with cryptic names, numerous accessories, and endless insert and folding options. Confusion when putting them on is inevitable. High five to anyone who can keep track of it all. For many parents, that’s more of a reason to take the familiar path to the diaper aisle of the nearest drugstore.

But here come the good news. You will no longer see parents standing in the drugstore with sad faces, dreaming of simple cloth diapers. Because Leon and Nele have come up with something brilliant for all expectant parents (and those who already are): A cloth diaper that is just as easy to put on as a disposable diaper. It’s exactly the same steps. No extra stuffing, no folding. Because the absorbent inserts are already sewn in with Judes. With the Velcro, you open and close the diaper and adjust it seamlessly at the waist, just as you know it from disposables.

So what does Judes have that others don’t?

Perhaps you are thinking that such simple cloth diaper systems already exist — the all-in-one systems, right? I see you already know your stuff. But let me quickly explain the differences between an all-in-one (AIO), a pocket diaper, and Judes. Wait, AIO? Pocket diaper? What is that?

• An AIO is a complete diaper in which the absorbent material and waterproof layer are permanently sewn together.
• Pocket diapers have a — attention! pocket 😉 — that is, a pouch into which the absorbent material must be inserted before use.

An AIO has the advantage that you can put it on relatively quickly. However, it also has decisive disadvantages, which is why Judes Family decided against this option:

1. They leak easily because they do not adapt as individually to the child’s body shape. In particular, there is a lack of absorbent material at typical leak points.
2. They are bulky and thick on the bum because they contain more layers.
3. They take longer to dry because they have a waterproof outer layer.
4. They are less sustainable because polyester and fabric are sewn together.

Pocket diapers do have the advantage that their absorbency can be varied more easily by placing a booster insert in their pocket. But this model also has major disadvantages:

1. The absorbency advantage is negligible, since you can also add more absorbency to Judes with boosters — and even faster and more easily.
2. Pocket diapers also leak quickly because the absorbent material is not close enough at the typical leak points.
3. Like AIOs, pocket diapers are bulky and thick on the bum because the boosters lie on top of each other inside their pocket.
4. Inserting and removing the boosters makes handling more difficult.
5. It requires knowledge of different types of materials, inserts, and folding techniques.
6. They are also less sustainable because polyester and fabric are sewn together.

A Judes, by contrast, consists of an extremely absorbent inner diaper and an especially leakproof cover. Putting on and changing both the inner diaper and the cover works exactly the same — just like with disposable diapers. No additional folding is necessary because Judes has already sewn in its inserts. Thus, no preparation is required.

 

Conclusion on the topic of “Handling”:

With many manufacturers of classic “cover + absorbent insert” systems, the absorbent material lies loose in the cover, and when putting the diaper on you must pay particular attention to ensure that nothing slips and everything stays in place.

This can—especially with very mobile children, or during phases when the child does not enjoy being diapered—lead to hectic and less affectionate diaper-changing situations. In addition, it requires a certain degree of skill and dexterity to put on these two-part diaper systems. Something not every caregiver has.

The advantages of Judes are:

• Save time: No preparation needed by folding and stuffing the diaper!
• Stability: No shifting of the absorbent material!
• Simple: Easier to put on, even with mobile children!

Insider tip: Judes diapers are also excellent for diapering your child while standing. At some point, every child reaches the moment when lying calmly on their back for a diaper change becomes too boring. Running around or crawling, climbing trees, or continuing to color the picture is simply more exciting!

Why is washing with Judes especially easy and fast?

Especially here I couldn’t imagine that Judes are really better than other cloth diapers. More on that in a moment…

But to clarify one thing in advance (for everyone who is new to this area): No, solid stool does not go into the washing machine! To protect the diaper in case of a bowel movement, Judes has developed its own Poo Paper. Thanks to two specially developed sizes, it fits perfectly into the inner diaper in sizes 1 and 2.

You simply place it between the inner diaper and your baby’s bottom. It then catches the stool while the inner diaper only absorbs the pee. Advantage: The stool can be disposed of together with the paper without you (or the inner diaper) coming into contact with it. And that greatly simplifies washing as well.

But that’s by no means all. Judes Family has really put thought into this.

Judes has developed its own wet bag, in which the diapers can not only be stored before washing, but also washed! This has two advantages:

1. You don’t have to touch the used Judes again before washing, because you simply place the entire wet bag into the washing machine and open the zipper at the bottom.
2. Putting it into the washing machine is incredibly fast, because you just place the whole wet bag inside.

In addition, with Judes Family there are no extra inserts, etc. to deal with in the wash. This means there are overall fewer parts to wash and dry.

I wanted to know precisely and ran a test. I washed Judes, hung them up to dry and took them down again—and timed it! The result surprised even me!

It takes…

• 30 seconds to put the wet bag into the machine and start the machine,
• 30 seconds to take the wet bag out again and unfold the drying rack,
• 7 minutes to hang the laundry (21 inner diapers, 6 covers, 5 boosters, 40 wipes),
• 1 minute to take the laundry down.

So it takes a total of 9 minutes to wash Judes. Wow!

At 1.5 washes per week, that’s about 15 minutes you spend on washing Judes cloth diapers. I would never have thought that! That’s probably less time than I’d need to take the daily disposable-diaper trash out to the bin—let alone buy new diapers. I call that a worthwhile time investment for a healthy baby’s bottom.

Here are a few tips again, how to wash your Judes:

• Store your used diapers in the Judes wet bag.
• Every 2–4 days simply place it, opened, into your washing machine; the diapers will tumble out on their own as soon as the machine starts to run.
• 60 degrees, Judes Family Care cloth diaper detergent, 1000 rpm when spinning. This is important, as the elastics would otherwise be stressed too much.
• For drying, simply hang them on the line, or dry them in the dryer
• Little tip: If the diaper got a bit of breastmilk stool on it, hang it in the sun after washing and watch the magic—the stain will disappear.

Another advantage of Judes’ concept of cover and inner diaper: After use you only need to wash the inner diaper; you can use the cover again (unless, of course, it came into contact with stool or larger amounts of urine) (Judes Family recommends using 4–5 times and airing, then washing). Simply air it out a bit and it’s ready for the next round.

Nothing gets through here – maximum leak protection: Judes are extremely leakproof

Anyone who takes a look at Judes customer feedback notices not only that they are very easy to use, but that they also apparently prevent leaks very well. Interestingly, both cloth-diaper veterans and disposable-diaper parents describe that Judes are much more leakproof by comparison!

This is probably mainly due to these three reasons:

1. According to their own statements, Judes uses an innovative fabric that is extremely absorbent and is not used by any other cloth diaper brand in Europe.
2. Another advantage of Judes Family diapers compared to other diapers is the leg and back elastics. Thanks to the combination of inner diaper and cover, you get them in double! This is really helpful when there is a full-on breast milk or milk-stool explosion in the diaper. What would easily make its way up the back or down the leg with single elastics is held back by the additional barrier of the cover!
3. As already mentioned above: the advantage of the fitted-diaper principle (compared with AIOs and pocket diapers).

Why Judes are thinner than other cloth diapers – much thinner!

Sure, Judes did not reinvent the concept of an inner diaper with a cover. So-called fitted diapers have existed for decades. Like Judes, they are made entirely of fabric and are complemented by an external moisture barrier that keeps the liquid inside.

What is often criticized about these fitted diapers, however, is their bulkiness. Due to the many layers of fabric, they add a lot of bulk and create the “bumblebee butt” that repeatedly draws astonished looks from other parents. That is neither nice for the child nor particularly comfortable, because the combination of cover and fitted diaper creates a very thick cloth diaper bundle.

“We can do it better,” thought the cloth diaper startup here as well, and developed an inner diaper with the absorbency of a conventional fitted diaper and the comfort of a slim diaper profile. Incidentally, that also makes it the perfect cloth diaper for the night.

Slim diaper profile with the same absorbency? Yes, it’s possible. Here, too, Judes’ innovative fabric comes into play. With a very special, custom-designed weave made of organic cotton fabric. In this way, the Judes diaper creates a slim diaper profile and thus maximum wearing comfort for your baby! Customer feedback notes that, for some, their children’s clothes still fit in their normal size:

"We have been using the cloth diapers for a few months during the day and are thrilled with the Judes:

- easy to put on with a precise fit 
- easy to wash — for stains just lay them in the sun 
- they don’t add bulk; regular clothing size fits over them
- they don’t leak
- fewer diaper accidents than with plastic diapers and other cloth diapers we tried!
- shorter changing intervals than with disposable diapers, but that also benefits the baby’s bottom :)
- received exactly the right order quantity recommended by the Set Finder
Absolute purchase recommendation! :)
(Anonymous)

With Judes, you automatically also have a night diaper

That other cloth diaper providers used to offer a night diaper in addition to the regular diaper was normal and the standard. Once you know Judes, it feels more like a design flaw. Judes are so absorbent that they can be wonderfully used as a night diaper.

At least that’s what many customers report in the form of customer feedback on the Judes website:

"I would (and I do) recommend Judes again and again! We now use 100% Judes, also on the go and at night, and we have actually never had a leak with them. At night, the diaper with a booster lasts about 8-10 hours for us ☺️"
(Corinna)

And I can well imagine it – my own absorbency test showed that they are indeed super absorbent. All you have to do is place a booster for the night in the Judes. Done!

Additional note: Some Judes parents even report that Judes hold up better against leaks at night than disposable diapers – even for children who pee a lot at night. I wanted to explicitly mention this, because in my experience many parents still resort to disposable diapers at night, as they believe those prevent leaks better.

Photo by Minnie Zhou on Unsplash

Why Judes are particularly healthy and sustainable

I had not thought about this point before, but it should be mentioned, especially in combination with the advantages of Judes mentioned above: Judes are also particularly healthy and sustainable.

Unfortunately, it is not a given that only organic cotton (for the inner diaper) and recycled polyester (for the diaper cover) are used. Unfortunately, it is also not a given that the absorbent diaper contains only natural materials, so that no synthetic materials come into contact with the skin.

In my opinion, however, this is extremely important. Anyone who takes the time to read up on what it can mean for a child’s health when the plastic diaper cannot breathe knows what I mean. Because with Judes, natural, breathable organic cotton lies on the baby’s skin, allowing the skin to regulate itself. No moisturizer is necessary, since a sore bottom (or diaper dermatitis) does not develop in the first place.

Instead, the baby’s bottom is healthy and happy, just as it normally is. And last but not least, the child can also develop naturally (and gain a sense of wetness when they pee in the Judes).

Stylish and simple

But Judes diapers are not only ahead when it comes to simplicity; they also truly impress with their design. Gender-neutral colors combined with minimalist patterns are a welcome contrast to the otherwise rather chaotically colorful cloth diapers from other manufacturers that rely on infantile motifs. But of course, that is a matter of taste.

Conclusion

We all want nothing more than a healthy, happy child who can grow up in a peaceful, intact world. The climate crisis, along with the littering of the planet, runs counter to this wish, which is why I have always tried to consume as sustainably as possible. I therefore, of course, also diapered my children with cloth diapers – but to be honest, it wasn’t always easy.

All the more wonderful that Judes Family is a startup that has come onto the market and makes cloth diapering much easier. I have never held a cloth diaper in my hands that was so easy to use. I am sure that thanks to Judes’ solution there will be many more children in the future who are diapered with cloth instead of plastic diapers. That makes me truly happy!

And finally, once again my top 5 aspects of why Judes is the best cloth diaper on the market:

• A slim diaper fit with excellent absorbency
• Beautiful designs and gender-neutral colors
• Super easy and intuitive, even on the go
• Organic cotton and a diaper cover made of recycled polyester
• The self-developed Poo Paper that catches stool

PS: I was truly enthusiastic when I had Judes in my hands for the first time (as you may have noticed while reading). Since the startup has set itself the goal of continuously evolving, it may be that my version is no longer the most up to date. So far, however, only small improvements have been made that have not significantly changed the Judes system.

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