FAQ

The Center for Baby and Adult Hygiene Products is the only U.S.-based organization dedicated to advancing the personal absorbent hygiene products industry in North America

Diaper Safety and Health 

  • Yes. Disposable diapers undergo a thorough safety review process which evaluates both the materials used in and design of diapers. This review demonstrates that diapers are proven to be safe when used as intended. More information

  • Disposable diapers can help skin health. They are highly breathable and are made to pull fluid (urine and stool) in quickly and lock it away from the skin to help keep the baby’s skin dry and healthy. Additionally, changing diapers frequently can help decrease the chance of diaper rash.
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  • In addition to the rigorous safety review process, diapers may be evaluated in other clinical studies. Once sold, manufacturers follow and track health- and safety-related feedback from parents and caregivers to confirm continued safe use.
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  • No, a child’s development will determine when they are ready for potty training. Most children show signs of readiness to begin using the toilet between 18 months and 3 years of age. These include staying dry for longer periods of time, having regular bowel movements and being uncomfortable with dirty diapers. In addition, most parents are able to tell when their child is about to urinate or have a bowel movement by his/her facial expression, posture or what he/she says. Diaper manufacturers make products specially designed to help toddlers and parents make a successful transition to the toilet.

How Diapers Are Made

  • Disposable diapers are made on specialized equipment from common materials having a long history of safe use in everyday consumer products. During manufacturing, each component of the diaper is added as a separate material and assembled into the finished product you buy. More information

  • Diapers have two major parts:
    1) a core where urine and liquid stool are absorbed and stored, and
    2) a chassis which holds the core together and ensures that a diaper fits properly. A detailed explanation and diagram can be found here.

  • The crystals and gel are forms of the superabsorbent polymer used in the diaper to trap wetness away from baby’s skin. Superabsorbent diapers offer significant skin health benefits; by trapping wetness away from baby’s skin they help keep the skin drier and healthier. This material turns liquid into a gel, helping to prevent leakage. Occasionally, you may see small beads of gel that escape from the diaper or on baby’s skin, but the gel is nontoxic and will not harm the baby.

    The superabsorbent material, also known as polyacrylate absorbents, is part of a family of polymers that have extraordinary absorbency. The safety of superabsorbent material has been proven in over 400 consumer safety tests studying every way a person could come in contact with it – through skin contact, or a baby’s eating it out of normal curiosity. Each study has consistently demonstrated the safety of this material.

  • No, a child’s development will determine when they are ready for potty training. Most children show signs of readiness to begin using the toilet between 18 months and 3 years of age. These include staying dry for longer periods of time, having regular bowel movements and being uncomfortable with dirty diapers. In addition, most parents are able to tell when their child is about to urinate or have a bowel movement by his/her facial expression, posture or what he/she says. Diaper manufacturers make products specially designed to help toddlers and parents make a successful transition to the toilet.

  • Yes. All of the component materials in disposable diapers are safe for the environment. Diapers are made of materials that are used in a wide range of other consumer products normally found in households. They can be safely disposed in any common solid waste management system.
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Diapers and the Environment

  • These issues range across a wide variety of information, including environmental stewardship, landfills, and recycling assessment of a diaper’s life cycle. Discussion of these issues may be found here.

  • Diapers compose about 1.5 % of solid waste and are safe for landfills and other forms of disposal. Recycling, incineration, and composting are also issues that can affect solid waste disposal. A discussion can be found here.

  • Innovative materials and designs have been implemented to reduce the weight of disposable diapers by 40% in recent years. Diaper performance has improved while generating less waste.
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  • Yes. Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) show that there has been a significant decrease on a variety of environmental impacts. Details of the studies can be found here.

  • All types of diapers affect the environment, but in different ways depending on what type of diaper is being used. For example, cloth diapers use more water and energy because they must be washed to be sanitary, yet disposable diapers produce more solid waste. More details on the studies can be found here.

  • No, they are not. The pulp used in BAHP member diapers comes from well-managed sustainable forests. Pulp suppliers are generally certified by an independent third party as practicing sustainable forestry. Certification includes standards and criteria for replanting trees, protecting biodiversity, water, air and soil, and for obtaining broad stakeholder input into the forest management plan.

  • Yes, pulp is bleached to purify the cellulose in the wood so it will be more absorbent. The pulp is made with elemental- chlorine-free processes that do not result in the formation of dioxin or other pollutants from former pulp-making technologies. In fact, the U.S. pulp industry phased out the former elemental chlorine processes by 2001.

  • A small amount of pulp is used in disposable diapers to absorb wetness. Bleaching softens the pulp and improves the pulp’s ability to absorb fluids. Globally, pulp bleaching is most commonly done with elemental chlorine-free (ECF) processes. ECF and the less common TCF (total chlorine free) pulp bleaching methods have both been shown to be environmentally safe replacements for the previous pulp bleaching methods that used elemental chlorine. Bleaching pulp with elemental chlorine led to dioxins and other pollutants being released into the environment, so it was phased out in the 1990’s. BAHP members only use ECF or TCF pulp in the products they manufacture and neither bleaching method results in the release of harmful pollutants to the environment or into the pulp-based products.

  • That is not true. The pulp is made with elemental chlorine-free processes that do not result in the formation of dioxin or other pollutants from former pulp-making technologies. The U.S. pulp industry phased out the former elemental chlorine bleaching processes by 2001.