I used to work in a brick and morter store that specialized in cloth diapering and baby wearing. It went under about a year ago and the main problem is that cloth diapers are a high labor (you tend to spend a lot of time per sale even if you have classes) and low profit (you don't have the needed profit margin in many of the diapers including the most popular). Its also hard to keep stock of exactly what people want due to both supply (many of the companies making diapers have shortages) and demand (buyers can be picky about colors and such and having everything is hard and expensive).
First, let me tell you that though I am about to seem harsh, I am really saying it out of concern and a very strong desire to save you money and pain.
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The market is way oversaturated and what PoppyMama says is very true. It would be a terrible idea to invest any money in this. We watch companies appear and disappear within months. To fully stock a store with even a handful of brands will run you in the tens of thousands of dollars and there are no loans for this. The margin is really terrible and all the manufacturers are WAHMs and they aren't always stocked. Natural parenting customers are picky and high-needs. Ex: You have a pregnant hormonal customer who has to have these exact colors of this exact diaper that she has never used b/c she has no kids yet and she knows nothing about diapers and these are the wrong diapers for her but she has to have them and they are out of stock of one color at the source and then you have this pregnant woman freaking out that her registry "is all out of stock." Repeat this multiple times per day.
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Before I had my business, I would look and look for a store with more than 5% off, and no one had free shipping. Now EVERYONE has free shipping (me included) and new stores are having to give 10-15% off all the time just to get sales, and with free shipping, you are LITERALLY OVER YOUR MARGIN. These people then go out of business and are in debt or have to declare bankruptcy. The prices are in a race to the bottom now and many sites are selling at a loss. I know the prices and I know the shipping costs and many sites are losing money at a rapid clip.
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Choosing a web cart is actually the easiest part of this. The setup is fun. Magento, WAHMShoppes, la la la. Choosing product - isn't it fun! - this is the easy part. Actually being in business requires, as Quirky said, a businessperson with business skills - the natural parenting aspect of it is totally incidental. We could be selling widgets. Actually being out in the world, advocating your beliefs - well, there isn't really the opportunity for it like you might think. Not everyone who shops with you will wear their baby or breastfeed or not circumcise.
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This is a full-time job in a market that has definitely passed its peak, and you will likely not be able to pay yourself, let alone pay back your investors. My husband and I both work full-time (actually he works more than full-time) at our successful business, and yet only draw one person's salary. Given that you are pg, this is altogether a terrible idea - pregnancy saps energy and motivation, and new babies need lots of care. If I want to come to the store and be able to work, I need childcare for my own kids even though I have my own store. It is simply impossible to run a store while trying to bf, change diapers, etc.
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I know that everyone hears what they want to hear, and you sound like you are going to do it anyway, but I would highly recommend listening to the 3 people on this thread with actual experience in this industry (me, Quirky and PoppyMama) and believe that it is a bad idea. If you want to work full-time and not draw a salary, have to find childcare for your children, and blow $50-100,000 that you will likely never get back, then sure, do it.
