Popular brands of disposable diapers contain dioxins and other toxic chemicals.
By
As you
probably know, disposable diapers sit in a landfill, undecayed, for
generations. They’re convenient for parents and caregivers but deadly for
Mother Earth.
Maybe
you didn’t know about another big problem. There’s evidence that most popular
brands of disposable diapers are bad for your baby too.
The good
news is that there are brands of disposable diapers that are better for babies.
The bad news is that most parents don’t use them.
Your
average disposable diaper has three layers: a waterproof outer one (typically
made of plastic), an absorbent core, and an inner layer that touches your
baby’s skin.
The most
harmful chemicals found in diapers, hands down, are dioxins. These are potent
cancer causers, and they make their way into diapers from chlorine bleach. The amount of dioxins found in diapers is miniscule.
But why risk even that when chlorine-free diapers are easy to find?
Another
danger lurking in some diapers are phthalates. These endocrine-disrupting
chemicals make plastics more flexible and pliant, but they’re also linked to reproductive harm. Again, you can
buy phthalate-free diapers.
Here’s a
good rule of thumb: If a diaper package or website does not say anything about
it, assume that brand or style contains harmful chemicals.
To avoid
these dangers, you can go with cloth diapers, or a hybrid like gDiapers, which
combines a reusable diaper cover with disposable inserts that can be flushed
down the toilet or composted. Or you can opt for brands like Bambo, Honest
Diapers, Seventh Generation, and even Target’s up&up to get a disposable
diaper that’s safer for your baby.
The
bigger question is: Why are we talking about this in the first place? Infants
are more vulnerable to toxic chemicals than adults and they should be
protected. Why are companies allowed to sell products designed for infants that
could possibly harm them?
The
research on this isn’t new. There’s a 1999
study that found that
emissions from diapers could lead to asthma. The study finding dioxins in
diapers was published in 2002. The one about dyes and diaper rash came out in
2005. The industry had more than a decade to make changes. But for the most
part, it didn’t.
Aside
from the obvious regulatory question (why are any baby products with toxic
chemicals in them even legal?), there’s a big question about corporate common
sense. Why haven’t Kimberly-Clark, which makes Huggies, and Procter &
Gamble, the parent company of Pampers, stopped endangering infants with these
commonplace products?
Market
forces just aren’t working.
Most of
us buy mainstream, low-cost food and other products that may contain nasty
chemicals. Many processed foods contain chemical additives you wouldn’t eat if
you knew about them. And mainstream diapers contain small, but unnecessary,
amounts of dioxins.
For
those who take the time to inform themselves and can afford it, the market
offers niche products — safer diapers, organic food, body care products, and so
on.
After
years of reporting on environmental toxins, I’ve slowly converted
everything product in my home to safer options. Sometimes it’s easy, like
storing food in glass mason jars. Sometimes it’s expensive, like when I bought
an organic cotton duvet cover.
And if I
had an infant who required diapers, I’d go with organic cotton cloth. I can’t
say I relish the thought of washing them, but based on what I’ve learned, it
would be worth the “yuck” factor and inconvenience.
Doing
the right thing for our health and for the Earth should not require detective
work.
OtherWords columnist
Jill Richardson is the author of Recipe
for America: Why Our Food System Is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It.
OtherWords.org