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Are Huggies And Pampers disposable diapers safe?
When I had my daughter, my first choice for a diaper was Huggies. I just thought diapers are either Huggies or Pampers. When your baby wakes up every 1.5 ~ 2 hrs and when you are sleep deprived, non toxic diaper is not the first thing you think about. I got the Huggies and just had to survive. It wasn’t until later, I started to notice non toxic diapers and started to research about them. Babies use diapers all day and every day. I don’t want to put bad chemicals against my baby’s skin 24 hrs a day. Some of the chemicals in the diapers are also irritants that cause diaper rash. Some chemicals are carcinogens. So are Huggies and Pampers disposable diapers safe? They are used by so many babies. What’s in the Huggies and Pamper’s disposable diapers? Let’s look at their ingredients and find out if they are safe.
Huggies
Huggies® Little Snugglers Diapers (Nano through Size 6)
Huggies Disposable Diapers Ingredients
Top Sheet (Inner Lining): Polypropylene and polyethylene
Absorbent Padding: Superabsorbent (sodium polyacrylate), wood fluff pulp, polypropylene, polyester, and polyethylene
Back sheet (Outer Lining) : Polypropylene and polyethylene printed with colorants
Waistband, inside flap, and leg elastics: Polyurethane, polypropylene, and polyethylene
Fastening system: Polypropylene, synthetic rubber elastic
Adhesive & Color changing dye
(Huggies Diapers And Swimpants Ingredients)
Polypropylene And Polyethylene
As you can see in the ingredients, Huggies use polypropylene and polyethylene as a top sheet and back sheet. Most of the disposable diapers use polypropylene as a top sheet or back sheet material. Polypropylene is one of the safer plastic. However, University of Texas study published in Environmental Health Perspectives concluded that almost all plastic products release estrogenic chemicals. The study said baby bottles and other products advertised as bisphenol A (BPA) free, release chemicals having estrogenic activity (EA). Another study found that polypropylene plasticware leached at least two chemicals called quaternary ammonium biocides and oleamide. Even though I couldn’t find a study directly stating disposable diaper release chemicals, polypropylene and also polyethylene are still a plastic and has potential to leach chemicals .
*If you want to find diapers do not use polypropylene and polyethylene, consider Naty by Nature Nappies or Honest Baby Diapers. Naty and Honest disposable diapers use plant-based PLA in their backsheet. (However, their top sheet is polypropylene and polyethylene.) Andy Pandy Eco Friendly Premium Bamboo Diapers use non woven bamboo fibers. (no use of pesticides)
Chlorine And Dioxins
One of the main concerns of diapers is that they are bleached with chlorine. When diapers are bleached with chlorine, that means there are dioxins. Dioxins are formed when chlorine is present. Dioxins are the most potent carcinogens. Dioxins can cause skin lesions and altered liver functioning. They can also damage reproductive functions, nervous system, immune system and endocrine system. They can also cause cancer. (Dioxins and Their Effects On Human Health)
Huggies use elemental chlorine-free bleaching (ECF). Elemental chlorine-free bleaching doesn’t mean it is completely chlorine free. It still forms dioxins but at much lower levels. This process uses chlorine dioxide rather than pure chlorine, reducing toxicity. Although chlorine is not completely free, elemental chlorine-free bleaching (ECF) is safer than conventional bleaching. (Dioxin formation in pulp and paper mills of India)
*If you want to go for diapers that are truly chlorine-free, go for diapers with totally chlorine free (TCF) wood pulp. The companies that use totally chlorine free wood pulp includes
Super Absorbent Polymer (Sodium Polyacrylate)
Almost all disposable diapers contain Super Absorbent Polymer (aka Sodium Polyacrylate). Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) absorbs liquid and traps it in the diaper. That’s how disposable diapers keeps liquid stay in the diaper. Although SAP is non toxic and hasn’t been proved that it is harmful, it can get contaminated with acrylic acid during manufacturing process. Acrylic acid can irritate baby’s skin, eyes and the respiratory tract if it leaks through the lining and is in direct contact with baby. Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) is also not biodegradable.
Huggies disposable diapers also use Super Absorbent Polymer in their core of the diapers.
*If you want to go for diapers that do not use Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) or use less amount of SAP, consider following diapers.
Fragrance And Phthalates
Huggies Diapers are fragrance and lotion free.
Dye
Diapers usually have colors, patterns or designs. Some dyes can contain heavy metals and cause allergic reactions in babies. In the Diaper Dye Dermatitis study, dyes on diapers often caused the diaper rash in babies. In the study, rashes only occurred in the places where the skin was in direct contact with the dyed part of the diaper. Symptoms improved significantly with the use of dye-free diapers.
Huggies disposable diapers are printed with colorants. Colorants can be either dyes or pigments. Dyes or pigments can contain heavy metals, irritate baby’s skin and cause diaper rash.
*If you want to go for diapers that do not use dye or use dye pigments that do not contain heavy metals, consider the following diapers.
Pampers Disposable Diapers
Pampers Swaddles Disposable Diapers (Size 1 to 6)
Pampers Disposable Diapers Ingredients
Top Sheet (Inner Lining) : Pampers top sheet is made of polypropylene and has a thin layer of mild lotion.
Absorbent Core: non woven made of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PET) fibers, wood pulp, super-absorbent gel in the core
Backsheet (Outer lining) : made of a polyethylene film
Colors: use pigments for colors, not dyes, because they say some dyes can cause allergy.
Fragrance: The perfumes are used at a very low level in each diaper
(What’s In Pamper’s Diaper?) (Pampers Use of Wood Pulp)
Polypropylene And Polyethylene
Pampers’s top sheet is made of polypropylene. Also, its back sheet is made of polyethylene film. There is a thin layer of lotion to help protect the skin from wetness. However, these lotions often include petrolatum. Petrolatum has the same substance as Vaseline and it could be contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). When petrolatum gets refined incompletely, it could potentially get contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHS) which are carcinogens. Petroleum-based lotions can also be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane. 1,4 dioxane is a possible human carcinogen. (French study claims Pampers nappies contain carcinogens linked to cancers of the skin, lungs, bladder, liver and stomach)
*If you want to go for diapers that do not have lotions on their inner lining, consider the following diapers.
Chlorine And Dioxins
Pampers disposable diapers uses an elemental chlorine-free process to purify the fibers in diapers. Again, this doesn’t mean no chlorine was used. It uses chlorine dioxide instead of pure chlorine, making the diaper less toxic. It still forms dioxins but at much less amount.
*If you want to go for diapers that are truly chlorine-free, go for diapers with totally chlorine free (TCF) wood pulp. The companies that use totally chlorine free wood pulp includes
Super Absorbent Polymer (Sodium Polyacrylate)
Pampers disposable diapers use non wovens made of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PET) fibers, wood pulp and super-absorbent gel for their diapers’ core.
Diapers listed below do not use sodium polyacrylate or use much less amount in their core part of the diapers.
Fragrance And Phthalates
Pampers manufacturer says the fragrance is used at a very low level in each diaper. Fragrance uses numerous synthetic chemicals and some of them are petroleum based. In addition, manufacturers don’t have to disclose fragrance ingredients since they are considered to be a ‘trade secret’. One of the fragrance ingredients is phthalate. Phthalate is endocrine disruptors and possible human carcinogens. Diapers with fragrance emits phthalate into the air and baby can breathe in the toxic fumes. Phthalate can also get absorbed through skin contact.
*If you want to go for diapers that do not use fragrance and phthalates, consider the following diapers.
Dye
Pampers says they do not use dyes on their disposable diapers because some dyes can cause allergic reactions. Instead, they use pigments for colors. Some pigments can be also toxic, however, Pampers say the pigments they use are non-allergenic and skin safe.
If you want to go for diapers that do not use dye, dye containing heavy metals, or even pigments, consider the following diapers.
Final Thoughts
If I have to pick between the Huggies and Pampers disposable diapers, I would pick Huggies diapers. Their ingredients seems to be a little better. However, they both contain materials that can be harmful.
Huggies and Pampers disposable diapers both use polypropylene and polyethylene for their top sheet and back sheet. Although polypropylene and polyethylene are typical top sheet or back sheet materials for diapers, they are still plastic and have concerns of leaching chemicals. Also they both have super absorbent polymer (SAP) in the core of their diapers along with wood pulp and synthetic fibers. SAP hasn’t been proven that it is harmful but it does have a contamination concern of acrylic acid which can irritate baby’s skin. Pampers disposable diapers contain lotion on their inner lining and also have fragrance in their diapers. Fragrance can contain harmful phthalates and lotion can be also contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 1,4 dioxane which are carcinogens. In addition, they both contain dyes and pigments that can irritate baby’s skin. Their disposable diapers use elemental chlorine-free bleaching (ECF) which is a lot less toxic than bleaching with pure chlorine. However, they are not totally chlorine free so they will still have dioxins in their diapers but at much less amount.
There are several disposable diapers that use much better and safer ingredients. Therefore, if you want to choose safe disposable diapers for your baby, go for non toxic disposable diapers.
If you want to find out which disposable diapers are safe in detail, please read my previous post, ‘Non Toxic Disposable Diapers – Which Disposable Diapers Are Safe?‘
If you want to read my reviews on non toxic diapers, Naty and Honest diapers, please read my post ‘Naty and Honest Diaper Review – Naty VS Honest Diapers‘.
Hello Isabelle,
congratulations to your analysis, as well as running your own company and raising a child. I’m not sure how old your baby is (I estimate about 10 months based on the date of this article) and I’m curious when she outgrows diapers, what other products you study more deeply in terms of any toxins and health risks. Maybe you have a link to another article 🙂
My wife and I raised two kids, both in their late teenage years now, and we were using diapers with most of the ingredients that you/we now may want to avoid given more insights into risks and much more sensitive analytical methods. We both are chemical engineers with biomedical interests as well as strong interest in healthy, sustained environment i.e. planet Earth’s nature. Also, we did find that diapers in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s got better, with less leakage, thinner and more breathable, so that overall they became more comfortable and with a lot less, basically no skin irritations anymore – compared to diapers and babies we observed at our siblings and cousins. So, I do wonder… What really is the risk of using SAP? Were you happy with the trade-off of eliminating SAP health risks with thicker and wetter diapers? Also, did you consider diapers using pulp that is completely chlorine-free bleached, namely with ozone and oxygen radicals?
One correction you should note: The Honest diapers also use polypropylene in addition to PLA polymer. The material is a mix of PP and PLA. As a chemical engineer I was curious to get to 100% PLA fibers and fabrics, but that still has significant production issues. So, I checked into the Honest diaper and found that it is a mix of PP and PLA, and if there was anything in PP that would leach and has associated health risks, it would also migrate through the PLA material and be exposed to baby skin.
Hope to learning more and making smarter choices – and best & kind regards,
Olaf
Hi Olaf,
Thank you for your message.
I do look at many things in my daughter’s daily life. You can see my other posts about baby and toddler products at ‘Baby Product Guide‘ section on my website.
These days since she is actively playing, I have been researching non toxic toys and art supplies.
I have not used disposable diapers that have no SAP. I think all disposable diapers contain some amount of SAP, some more and some less amount. I have tried Honest diapers which uses bio-based wheat polymer blended with sodium polyacrylate (SAP) and Naty diapers which uses totally chlorine-free (TCF) pulp and small amount of SAP. You can see my reviews on these diapers at my other post, ‘Naty and Honest Diper Review – Naty VS Honest Diapers‘. I have heard very good feedback on Bambo diapers from friends which has less SAP than most diapers.
In my research, I haven’t found studies that gave me conclusion that SAP is harmful or toxic. However, it could potentially irritate baby’s skin. Also, most diapers with pulp and a super absorbent polymer (SAP) does not biodegrade so they are not environmentally friendly.
Thank you! 🙂
Just wanted to let you know that the insides of all disposable diapers are actually compostable. Common misconception that no part of disposable diapers are biodegradable – only the outer is not 😃
Hi Jen,
Thank you for your comment. However, all disposable diapers contain SAP (super absorbent polymer) and most SAP is not biodegradable. Broody Chick uses 100% biodegradable SAP which is made woodpulp and plant-based SAP but most diaper do not use biodegradable SAP. However, I do think that more diapers that use biodegradable SAP will come out in the future. 🙂
H! Thanks for your thorough explanation of so many common diaper ingredients. Honest company recently updated their diapers and now include polypropylene and polyethylene on the top sheet. They unfortunately stopped using PLA, not sure why. I just found out that Target’s brand, Cloud Island released a new line of diapers. They seem to be nontoxic and are very well priced for a more natural diaper. Also, I like using Earth’s Best diapers which are a good nontoxic option. What are your views on these brands if you’ve looked into them?
Thanks!!
Hi Natalie,
Thank you for your comment. Yes, Honest diapers‘ outer layer is made of Plant-Based PLA and inner layer is made of Polyethylene & Polypropylene. Earth’s best diapers are chlorine-free and fragrance-free. I also like that they are dye free. Most diapers have dye which can be allergic to some babies. However, Earth’s Best Diapers still use pigments on the waistband. Pigments can also cause allergic reactions. In addition, Earth’s Best says their diapers are made of corn and wheat starch but they don’t say their corn is Non-GMO. There is high possibility that corn is GMO corn since most corns grown in US are GMO (88%). I couldn’t find their diapers in their Non-GMO product list. Cloud Island diapers seems to be affordable but I couldn’t find diaper ingredients information. I have emailed Target and waiting for their reply. I would like to see what the ingredients are first. Once I hear from them, I will keep you posted. 🙂
Hi Natalie,
Target told me that Cloud diapers contain following ingredients.
Material/Ingredient: Totally Chlorine-Free (TCF) Wood Pulp, Polypropylene (top & back sheet), Sodium Polyacrylate, Polyurethane, Polyester (layer that helps keep baby dry), Adhesives (joints & seams), Pigments & Inks
I like that there is no chlorine, lotion and fragrance. However, it has polyurethane, polyester and pigment and inks. Polyurethane and polyester are made of petrochemicals which is derived from petroleum. Pigments and inks can be allergic to some babies. Hope this helps!
Hi.
This is Veeresham from India.
You have mentioned about Pampers and Huggies in your research.
I am using Mamy poko pants from couple of years and Happy with the product but it surprised me that no where this product is in your list.
Can you please give some details on the product.
Would be of great help if I can get comparison between Mamy poko, pampers and Huggies.
Thanks.
Hi Veeresham,
Thank you for your inquiry. I don’t think Mamy poko pants are widely available in US. I couldn’t find ingredient list of this diaper or Mamy poko contact information in US online. I did inquire to MamyPoko Philippines. If I hear from them, I will let you know. I have to know the ingredient list to do the comparison. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your nice explanations.
Thank you!
Dear, i am living in Sri Lanka. i am going to buy Non Toxic Disposable Diapers (diapers do not use polypropylene and polyethylene or diapers that do not use Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) or use less amount of SAP) after your reviewing please let me know which is best brand.
i am going to purchase on Daraz online.
Hi Tharique,
I am not familiar with Daraz in Sri Lanka. Do they carry any of the non toxic diapers I recommended on my post here?
Lovely article! I am a mom to be and have been doing lots of research on diapers. I have come down to the following options: Hello Bello, Dyper, and Bambo. You spoke a bit about Bambo, but have you heard of or know of the other two brands listed. Thank you for your time.
HiSophia,
Thank you. I really love Dyper diapers. A top sheet and a back sheet of their diapers are made with viscose fibers from responsibly sourced, renewable Bamboo. Their diapers also use modern plant-based PLA films. They free of chlorine, latex, alcohol, lotions, TBT or Phthalates. I really love that Dyper diapers are unprinted. They are also Standard 100 certified by OEKO TEX.
Hello Bello diapers were made without lotion, fragrance, latex, phthalates,TBT and chlorine. They use a plant-derived core liner. However, their top sheet and back sheet of a diaper is made with petroleum-based materials. I like Bambo and Dyper better than Hello Bello. However, I feel that Hello Bello diapers are still a lot better than many of the conventional diapers available. Hope this helps!
Hi
This is a really informative article.
My baby is 1 year old. I stay in India.
We have been using Baby Hug diapers for my Kid.
(https://babyhug.in/)
Can you please give some details on the product. I am very worried.
Alternatively, which diapers in India are safer to be used for babies. Any recommendations from your side.
Thanks a lot!!!!
Hi Argho,
Thank you for your inquiry.
I am not familiar with the Babyhug diapers. I went to the website to get contact information for the Babyhug and get material information but there is no contact information on the website. Do you see the materials and ingredients listed on the packaging so that I can take a look?
Thanks!
I am very happy to read this. This is the kind of manual that needs to be given and not the accidental misinformation that’s at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this greatest doc.
Thank you!