Ever feel like choosing a diaper is like navigating a labyrinth of trendy words and catchy claims? The industry is swarming with greenwashing and misleading marketing, so I’m here to guide you through this crazy maze. I care a lot about the products I put on my babies, so when I asked my community what are the most non-toxic diapers, I decided to put all the responses to the test.
I’m ranking Coterie, Huggies Special Delivery, Dyper, Pampers Pure and Millie Moon based on how green and clean they really are.
But first, WTF are ECF, TCF and PFAS?
Let’s discuss what exactly the buzzwords around bleaching in diaper manufacturing actually mean. ECF, or Elemental Chlorine Free, means the diaper materials were bleached with chlorine dioxide instead of elemental chlorine, which is a chlorine derivative. Trace amounts can remain in these materials as a result. TCF, or Total Chlorine Free, means the diaper was bleached using a process that does not use chlorine or chlorine derivatives. If given the choice, I feel safer going with TCF so that I can be sure chlorine bleaching was not part of the process at all.
Next, let's review what PFAS “Forever Chemicals” are and why they matter. These chemicals are considered toxic to our bodies, potentially remaining for years or decades, and are awful for the environment. The health effects are found to be vast, including reduction in immunity, increased risk of allergies, metabolic and cardiovascular disease, lowered fertility and disrupted thyroid function. Mamavation recently conducted a study detecting PFAS in 15 of 65 diapers it tested. I only included diapers that had no PFAS “Forever Chemicals” detected for this comparison.
Non-Toxic Diapers, Ranked
Criteria 1: Ingredient Safety
Coterie: Total chlorine free. Latex free. Fragrance free. Lotion free. Rubber free. Dye free. Alcohol free. Paraben free. Phthalate free. Clinically proven hypoallergenic. Dermatologist-tested. No brighteners. No animal testing. They are the only brand to release a public Diaper Safety Report. 5/5
Huggies Special Delivery: Elemental chlorine free (pulp is bleached with chlorine dioxide, not as safe as TCF). Fragrance free. Clinically proven hypoallergenic. 2/5
Dyper: Elemental Chlorine free (pulp is bleached with chlorine dioxide, not as safe as TCF). Latex free. Fragrance free. Lotion free. Paraben free. Phthalate free. 3/5
Pampers Pure: Elemental chlorine free (pulp is bleached with chlorine dioxide, not as safe as TCF). Latex free. Fragrance free. Paraben free. Clinically proven hypoallergenic. 3/5
Millie Moon: Elemental chlorine free (pulp is bleached with chlorine dioxide, not as safe as TCF). It's worth noting the brand quietly switched in 2023 from TFC, which caused an uproar on social media from parents whose babies began having reactions. Latex free. Fragrance free. Lotion free. 3/5
Criteria 2: Eco-friendly
I must underscore this: there is no such thing as a 100% biodegradable diaper.
Coterie: Coterie diapers are made with 25% plant-based materials from sustainably managed forests. The brand reduces packaging waste wherever possible. I appreciate that Coterie is extremely transparent about its processes and materials. So while not an actual compostable diaper, Coterie is thinking about the environment and planning for a more sustainable diaper future. 3/5
Huggies Special Delivery: Huggies Special Delivery diapers are made with 20% plant-based, responsibly sourced materials with pulp certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. 2/5
Dyper: Dyper diapers are made with 55% plant-based ingredients, including bamboo viscose which has made national attention recently for not being as eco-friendly as marketing makes it out to be because of the heavy chemical byproducts that are released during the production of this material. Dyper offers a disposal service for an extra cost which only picks up diapers every two weeks (but I definitely can’t store dirty diapers in my garage for that long 🤢). This special disposal process releases significant amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, but they do take part in a Carbon Offset program. 4/5
Pampers Pure: Pampers Pure diapers are also made with wood pulp from sustainably managed forests similar to Coterie, and the diaper's top sheet layer is plant-based. They are produced with 100% certified renewable energy. 2/5
Millie Moon: Millie Moon sadly doesn’t seem to really care about being eco-friendly. There is little detail on the sustainability of its diapers, other than a mention of being built with sustainably sourced pulp. 1/5
Bonus Criteria: Absorbency… because what good is a diaper if it's not ultra absorbent?
Coterie: This diaper absorbs liquid instantly and feels incredibly dry. 5/5
Huggies Special Delivery: I’d consider this your average diaper in absorbency and wetness. 3/5
Dyper: While this diaper absorbs quite quickly, these feel the wettest of all the options. 2/5
Pampers Pure: These resisted absorbency of liquid, and definitely feel wet. 2/5
Millie Moon: Millie Moon absorbed the same as your average diaper. 3/5
My pick for the best non-toxic diapers is Coterie.
Grab yourself a subscription to the most non-toxic diaper now. And while you're at it, I highly recommend adding on Coterie wipes – they are best of the best.
Get 20% off your purchase of Coterie Diapers with code: NEWMODERNMOM
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