Honestly, I really can't remember actually being in diapers as my parents had me out of them pretty early. However, I do think that plastic backed diapers were predominant at that time. I do remember getting to wear diapers when I was 6, and those were plastic backed. The plastic is not something that matters all that much to me. I care about the quality, the thickness and how it feels on me. So if a cloth-backed diapers came out on the market that was compareable to the Bambinos, I would have no problem wearing them. In fact, if they could accurately make an adult cloth backed diaper that was like the ones Huggies makes for babies, I would kind of be excited about trying them.