365 Diapers (Whole Foods) are ECF, and free of fragrance, latex, and TBT. We are also calling them Sneaky Stuff because of their lack of disclosure about phthalates, dyes, and lotion.
Price per diaper: $0.24
Earth’s Best Tendercare Diapers At first glance these diapers appear to be at least Good Stuff: they use a “plant based plastic” for their top-sheet and back-sheet and a cellulose fluff/SAP/bio-SAP core. However, there is no info on whether Earth’s Best diapers are phthalate-free or lotion-free. They do claim to be dye-free, but don’t give any info on what is used for the print. There is a general absence of transparency about the composition and percentage of the diaper that uses “plant-based plastic.”
Price per diaper: $0.32
Huggies Diapers are ECF, and free of fragrance, lotion, latex and parabens. The label states that they are “EU 26 allergens free,” as well. I’m not moving them from Sneaky Stuff because they do not disclose any information about phthalates, dyes, or the composition of the back-sheet.
Price per diaper: $0.59 to $0.88
Kirkland Signature Diapers As many of you know, Kirkland has made some great improvements to their diaper, and now appear to be free of latex, chlorine, fragrance, lotion, and artificial dyes. That said, there is no evidence that they are free of phthalates (we chatted with a rep and they said that they were unable to provide an answer about phthalates) and of course they are still made of petroleum-based plastics. They state that “some of the polyethylene is made from sugar cane” I would like say they’ve upgraded from Bad Stuff to Okay Stuff, but with a lable that boldly claims that these diapers are “made with plant-based materials,” coupled with the lack of transparency on phthalates, we have to call these green-washed, and therefore Sneaky Stuff.
Price per diaper: $0.26
Mamma Bear (Amazon brand) are ECF, fragrance free, latex free and hypoallergenic, but have no further information available. Mama Bear gets a “Sneaky Stuff” designation for lack of disclosure about phthalates, dyes, and lotion.
Price per diaper: $0.16
Rascal & Friends Premium Diapers A few of you asked about this brand, but the response we received was: “Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a detailed ingredients list of our diapers, as this is commercially sensitive. We are proud to say that our products are free from formaldehyde, elemental chlorine, phthalates, parabens, gluten, and endocrine disruptors. We also have a focus on no nasties, and our diapers contain no latex or fragrances and we only use water-based inks! The inks we use are non-toxic and completely harmless to baby’s skin.” Without more details on what is in these diapers, we will consider them Sneaky Stuff.
Price per diaper: $0.22
Up & Up Diapers (Target) are Sneaky Stuff because the label states “petroleum-free lotion” and “perfume-free” as opposed to simply being lotion-free and fragrance-free, although we did confirm that they do not contain phthalates.
Price per diaper: $0.43
268 comments
Daniela
oh, and Andy Pandy is on a hiatus.
DANIELA
THANK YOU FOR DOING ALL THIS IMPORTANT RESEARCH. IT SAVED ME A LOT OF TIME. THANK YOU FOR HELPING OUR BABIES BE HEALTHY. JUST AN UPDATE AND INSIGHTS: Happy littler campers, healthy baby and Joonya are the only ones on the best list that don’t have a wetness indicator. Nest – is out of many sizes at the moment and many are reporting poor customer service (including receiving wrong sizes).
rosemaryschmidler
I haven’t tried the Whole Foods 365 diapers yet so I can’t speak to quality but all body care/personal care for babies and children must meet their quality standard for Whole Body/Body Care. Based on their website, they have banned phthalates from their products! It’s still unclear about dyes and lotions though.
Suzanne Weaver-Goss
I love the idea of Elimination Communication. EveryLife Diapers look good at first glance.
Monica Ballerini
Great info! I’m thinking of trying “EveryLife” diaper. Any insight into this brand? Also, I’m a big believer in Elimination Communication (obviously not full-time) and have been practicing it with my 4-month old baby since birth. Using disposables as opposed to cloth is just easier to rip off when I get the cue :) I would love to see more push for EC!
Thank you!
Suzanne Weaver-Goss
Hi Jennifer,
I haven’t done a deep dive but I looked at Millie Moon and I see that they are high quality but I don’t see information about their safety.
Jennifer Baxter
Hi, Maia. Any thoughts on Millie Moon from Target?
Viktoriia
Hi, do you have an opinion about Merries diapers. It’s a Japanese brand and I know a lot of people love them because they are the softest diapers I’ve ever seen but I wonder how they are rated.
Anna
We tried so many cleaner diapers with our first daughter, and we settled on Happy Little Campers. They were by far our favorites! They absorbed well, and a bonus was you can get them in your Subscribe & Save order on Amazon!
Lydia
I also had some significant pricing and communication issues with them. We resolved issues after a lot of back and forth but I was very frustrated with sudden pricing changes along with emails that state a new shipment is going out without telling me how much it will cost — have to log in each month to search for those details. Communication is weak though we really liked the diapers.
Jess
I tried happy little campers and my daughter got bad diaper rash. I gave them a chance that it wasn’t just a fluke thing, I used the whole box of diapers and kept putting diaper cream on her. It would clear up and then come back. She doesn’t usually get diaper rash very often with other brands
Jordana
We’ve used the training pants from Healthy Nest for our almost 5 year old and think they’re great! They are a little tight so he asks for help to take them off most times but for a 6 year old I’m sure they would work well.
Caitlyn
Have you looked into freestyle world diapers they are new. What are your thoughts on the diapers and how do you feel they qualify?
Tavia
I have used Happy Little Camper diapers and they are great! For comparison, I used to use Huggies special delivery and HLC holds up just as well. I tried Hello Bello for a brief time and it couldn’t handle the nighttime urine at all.
Cynthia
Thank you so much for these amazing guides! I’ve been using Dyper for the last 10 months and was excited about both the clean product and the Re-dyper composting program (and honestly the absorption performance is amazing on these). We don’t have a municipal composting site close to our house, so I loved the idea of a composting program that the company coordinates for you. Dyper is still new and has changed things without notice (pull up sizing, packaging), but I was VERY disappointed when they changed the Re-dyper program cost without any customer notice for a subscription. I was paying $10/month and suddenly they charged me $60/month without letting me know or one last month for grandfathered customers. I’ve worked in CPG for a while and a change like that without notice is unheard of. I am now planning to try one of the other brands on this list, but just a warning for anyone trying Dyper is don’t be surprised and keep an eye on your subscription costs!
Leah
Yes! Please let me know about rascal and friends! It’s the only
Diaper we’ve used so I want to know if I need to change!
Leah
I’d like to know about this too!
Coriena
I am having baby #2 with a 7 year gap between pregnancies, and man, things have changed! I used all cloth diapers with my first, but this time, I don’t have a washing machine, so I’m very happy for this guide! We use a composting toilet, and I’ve been hoping there is now a diaper available we can just throw in to compost, which it looks like some of these on your list are, am I right?
Also, a brand that popped up in my initial search is a New Zealand brand called ECORIGINALS (ecoriginals.com). They look pretty good and explicitly state they’re phthalate-free among other things. But they’re only 90% biodegradable, so seems like that means we couldn’t compost them.
Thank you for this. I really appreciate all the work you do!
Maia James
Yes, these are Good Stuff!
https://healthynest.pxf.io/3PONvA
Maia James
I’ve heard great things about the training pants from Healthy Nest!
https://healthynest.pxf.io/3PONvA
Kik
I’m looking for a good overnight pullup-style diaper for children age 6 who wet at night. Any suggestions? I saw the Abri-Form, but they are diapers. I need something he can pull off if he makes it to the bathroom. THANK YOU
johnlockegoss
We should modify this by saying that when properly composted and handled, human feces can be a valuable source of nutrients for a crop. Unfortunately facilities that are equipped to do it properly are somewhat uncommon.
Andy
Hi, thank you for making such a comprehensive guide!
My only qualm is that you say human feces shouldn’t be composted. While it’s true many people don’t have a way to compost diapers, it’s not true that human poop shouldn’t be composted.
Lots of off grid communities use composting toilets and generate “humanure”, which is extremely beneficial and useful, particularly for fertilizing trees. It’s true that is shouldn’t be used on annual garden veggies or things of that nature, but human poop (especially of someone who eats well) is valuable and composting it when possible is better than flushing it to a waste water facility or into a septic tank.
Cloth Diaper
I love cloth diaper. what is your thought about cloth diaper?
Caroline
Hello,
Have you ever tried or reviewed the diapers Rascal and friends by any chance?
Thank you!
Roxy
Curious to know what you think about viscose bamboo and just regular bamboo? I know Dyper uses viscose bamboo and I’ve read a lot about the process of obtaining viscose and contains a lot of toxic chemicals. Does that come up in your research? If so, does the chemical process not affect the final product so still OK to use?
Meghan
https://healthybaby.com/pages/ewg-verified-diaper?gclid=CjwKCAiAu8SABhAxEiwAsodSZDNMtQeV3rylIh8mUZsNVVixXi0lLzZGo-54iR8kUvdF-65iJVwDgxoCy34QAvD_BwE
This is the website
Healthy Nest diapers
Meghan
I just came across these EWG verified diapers. Any thoughts or info on these? The seem to be good. EWG verified makes me think these are good stuff. I have a trial and they are sooooo soft and absorbent and thin. Wondering if you knew anything about them? Thank you kindly!!!
Amy Smith
Thanks for sharing such a useful information. I appreciate your blog post.. Have you tried 100% organic cotton and bamboo muslin bed and bath products ? I would like your thoughts if you have, or if you want to check it out …https://www.rollupbaby.com/collections
Sarah Nelson
Have you heard anything about offspring diapers? They have good reviews and the company is based in Australia.
Dana
Possibility to include Little Feet by Lachance?
https://www.amazon.ca/BIODEGRADABLE-BAMBOO-DIAPERS-LITTLE-LaChance/dp/B073XQ8BM3
We were looking for something compostable and we totally love them. They are expensive though, so we will test something cheaper from your Best Stuff list.
Samantha
has kirkland not changed their formula? I thought they were chlorine free now.
Precious
I was using nest for a year and then I had to deal with their customer service.(I MEAN, THE NEST COMPANY DIRECTLY…not gimme the good stuff) First it was ok, I had mistakenly ordered diapers which are $20 more expensive than pull ups so I should have known. I was within their return window and they said to just get rid of the diapers and they will send a replacement. So donated it but I also ordered a case of pull ups cause I was low and needed it fast. The replacement never came so I ordered another. That never came either. I had to order another one since I got no replies from customer service. I basically paid $150 for one case of pull ups, so never again. I should have gotten them from this website. Also, I noticed a petroleum smell on the pull ups in the last few shipments so I’m not entirely sold on them anymore.
Ru
DYPER said that they had updated their diapers and pull up briefs, and made some adjustments, so their V3 diapers and briefs are more absorbent and better for the planet. Link to some information is here: https://dyper.com/v3
The updates have been applied for the last few months in 2020 (likely late 2020).
With the updates/ adjustments, will DYPER still be ranked among your Best Stuff please?
Ru
Can you please kindly review Natural Blossom’s disposable Pull Up Pants/diapers: https://www.amazon.ca/Natural-Blossom-Disposable-Hypoallergenic-Diapers/dp/B07KM9CYJ2
Which category will they fall in please: best, good, okay, bad, or sneaky?
Ru
Can you review Natural Blossom’s disposable pull up pants/diapers please: https://www.amazon.ca/Natural-Blossom-Disposable-Hypoallergenic-Diapers/dp/B07KM9CYJ2
Kate
Nature’s One now makes Baby’s Only Diapers and Wipes. They seem very affordable and their description sounds good, but I can’t seem to find a third party review. I’d love to see your take!
Irina
Hello bello have my LO instant rush, and based on reviews I would say I’m far from alone, def some strange ingredients there since Honest and Eco by Naty NEVER gave such quick and aggressive reaction. It’s strange that all of them are in the same category in the review above. There is smth very sneaky in Hello bello one…
Julia
The Abby & Finn website specifically says their diapers are phthalate free. Is there another reason they are only considered “okay stuff?â€
https://abbyandfinn.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360036126774-Are-your-diapers-phthalate-free-
Kristin
Hi! I see this was written about a year ago and so am wondering if the stance on Kirkland diapers is still accurate. I was just on the app and they appear to have a diaper that is more eco friendly. It doesn’t say anything about not having bleach, just that it is hypoallergenic, so I don’t know if the bleach is still a factor, but it does say it now has plant based materials, but only 23% by weight (which I couldn’t figure out what that meant in comparison with other brands like honest which is what we use now).
Danielle O.
I just messaged Huggies and they said all their diapers are free of phthalates but they do use dye. Here’s the link for their ingredients: https://www.kimberly-clark.com/en/brands/ingredients/consumer/huggies/diapers
Chelsea p
Mama bear has a new gentle touch diaper that is free of dyes, Paraben, fragrance and lotion. I’d love to see what you think of these!
Emilia
I was wondering about Coterie diapers too!
Ruby
Just wondering where coterie diapers would fall in compared to the brands already reviewed.
Danielle O.
We usually use cloth diapers, but we also use Honest diapers. We might be switching away from them soon though due to a weird smell, and I think they are now giving my one year old diaper rash. Here’s an email I received from their customer service regarding the weird smell:
“Yes, our diapers have some functionality improvements that were made as well as the core changed from a blend of super absorbent polymer, TCF fluff pulp, and cereal-based polysaccharides to a blend of super absorbent polymer containing renewable resources and TCF fluff pulps.
As for any scents you might notice, everything has a scent including the ingredients that compose the product and under certain conditions, such as humidity or heat, can enhance or diminish a product’s scent. If you find the scent unappealing, we recommend to try opening the package and leaving the Diapers in a cool, dry space to air out for a bit."
Katy
We usually cloth diaper but use Mum&You Nappychat diapers when we have to use disposables, and Simple Truth (Kroger) wipes. Would love to see some thoughts on those!
Violetta Sur
What about the Rascal and Friends diapers and training pants? They are relatively new and claim to be a non toxic diaper company. How would you rate them?
Gina C
What about Kit & Kin diapers?
Aaron
I got this email from Babyganics
“ Thank you for taking time out of your day to reach out and inquire about Babyganics® Diapers. We know your time is valuable, and we appreciate you contacting us.
Good news! I’m happy to say that our Babyganics® Diapers are both free of phthalates and parabens. You can always find out what is in our products by visiting our website and searching for specific products.â€
V
After reading this post, I was concerned because I have been using Earth’s Best diapers for fifteen months— since my child was born! So I called the company to ask if the diapers contain phthalates, and the customer service representative on the phone said that none of the Earth’s Best diapers contain phthalates— even though it is not printed on the box. I just wanted to add that to this excellent post and would be curious to hear how you rate their diapers if you accept what the company says on the phone! But I will be switching to the bamboo diapers in any case because of the environmental impact, hopefully we won’t be using diapers that much longer! Thanks for your excellent blog and for doing all this research on our behalf!!