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Diaper Polymer -- cool science video (Steve Spangler)

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Diaper Polymer -- cool science video (Steve Spangler)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWfwDt5QRRY

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Spangler Hands-on Science Workshop for Teachers

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Diaper Polymer - Cool Science Experiment

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Buy Water Gel Here: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/water-gel-magic-slush-powder.html When our science guy, Steve Spangler, wants to know if Mark has a change of clothes here at the station, you know that today's experiment probably involves lots of water. It's a simple lesson in chemistry... and trust. Want more experiments like this?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8giiZjOOwsU

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Cool Science Experiments You Can Do At Home

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Simple Science Tricks With Household Items

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Diaper Science: a fun, at-home science experiment

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Learn the science behind this shell game! With simple items from around the house, you can use chemistry to perform a magical rick and amaze all your friends. Another fun at home science experiment brought to you by the Science OFF Center Team! After you try this experiment, let us know how it worked!

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https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/adventures-in-chemistry/experiments/diapers.html

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Water is H ₂ O. This means that it is made up of two hydrogen atoms (H) and one oxygen atom (O). But the atoms in a water molecule are bonded together in such a way that one part of the molecule has a negative charge and the other part a positive charge. Because opposites attract, water molecules are very attracted to each other and to other molecules which have positive and negative charges.

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Water is H 2 O. This means that it is made up of two hydrogen atoms (H) and one oxygen atom (O). But the atoms in a water molecule are bonded together in such a way that one part of the molecule has a negative charge and the other part a positive charge.

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https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/water-absorbing-crystals/

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Finding the Polymer In a Real Baby Diaper

Start by collecting a number of disposable diapers. Any toddler's diaper will work. Invite your students to carefully examine the disposable diapers. Is there any trace of powder-like super absorbent polymer? What do you see? How do you think the manufacturer hides the super absorbent polymer?

The Pouring Test

Determine the amount of water a disposable diaper can hold by slowly pouring about 1/4 cup (approximately 50 ml) of warm tap water into the center of the diaper. Hold the diaper over a dishpan or sink and continue to add increments of water. Tip the diaper back and forth after adding water each time. Record the amount of water the diaper holds before it becomes saturated and steadily leaks. Try testing different brands of diapers.

Finding the Secret Polymer

Place a new diaper on a piece of black paper. Carefully cut through the cotton lining and remove all of the stuffing material. Put this cotton-like material into a clean, zipper-lock bag. You should be able to see and feel traces of the polymer. Scoop up any of the polymer that may have spilled on the black paper and place it into the bag. Seal the bag (blowing a little air into the bag as you seal it to make the bag puff up like a pillow). Shake the bag for a few minutes to remove the polymer powder from the cotton. Notice that the super absorbent polymer powder is resting on the bottom of the bag. Remove the cotton from the bag and measure the amount of polymer that you extracted. If you like, add 4 ounces of warm water to the bag and time how long it takes to gel the water.

So, How Does the Powder Absorb Water?

Most common synthetic polymers are said to be hydrophobic (water-fearing), which means that they do not absorb water. Examples of these polymers might include products such as plastic cups, bags, and plastic toys. There are also hydrophilic, or water-loving polymers. Many natural polymers such as cotton fibers are hydrophilic. The polymer found in the diaper is an example of a synthetic, hydrophilic polymer.

Water-Absorbing Crystals

Purchasing Information: Super absorbent crystals are sold at lawn and garden centers under many different trade names including HydroSource or SoilMoist. Just ask for help in finding water-absorbing polymer crystals.

Super absorbent polymers are rapidly becoming one of the most exciting environmental education topics in classrooms worldwide. Today, super absorbent polymers are widely used in such applications as forestry, gardening, and landscaping as a means of conserving water. Imagine using a substance that could store water in the soil and then release it, as the plants roots need it. Indeed, the super absorbent polymer in this package is able to reduce the amount of time that is spent watering a lawn, a garden, or even a house plant by 50 to 80 percent! While we may consider water-absorbing polymers to be a modern convenience, imagine the impact that such technology is having on parts of the world that are plagued by drought.

Super absorbent polymer has hundreds of uses, is environmentally safe to use, and is one of the few fields of study where school age children are actually able to engage in scientific inquiry and make genuine contributions to science.

Science Activities

1. Growing Polymer Crystals:

Place 1/4 teaspoon of the polymer crystals in a quart size zipper-lock bag and add 8 ounces of tap water. Add 1 or 2 drops of food coloring to the water to make the experiment more colorful. Seal the bag and observe what happens to the crystals after 10 minutes, 30 minutes, and 1 hour. How has the polymer changed? Will the crystals get any bigger if you add more water?

Repeat the previous experiment, but this time try distilled water in place of regular tap water. Distilled water is similar to rainwater, so the experiment will show how much rainwater the crystals will absorb in the ground.

Will the polymer crystals absorb anything other than water? Try any of these liquids in place of water:

- Tomato juice
- Orange juice
- Vegetable oil
- Milk
- Soda pop
- Rainwater or melted snow
- Hot water
- Salt water

2. Shrinking Polymer Crystals:

Use the polymer from experiment #1 for this experiment. Remove the jelly-like polymer crystals from the zipper-lock bag and spread them out on a piece of wax paper. Using a ruler, measure and record the size of the crystals. Allow the crystals to sit in the sunlight for several days. As the polymer sits in the warm sunlight, the water will evaporate, and the crystals will shrink. After several days, measure and record the size of the same polymer crystals. If you previously added food coloring to the water in experiment #1, did the polymer crystals retain their color after the water evaporated?

3. Polymer Plant:

Grow grass seed, radishes, beans, or other fast-starting plants in a mixture of polymer and soil. The soil/polymer mixture should be half soil and half polymer crystals that have already absorbed water. Try growing the same seeds that you planted in the soil/polymer mixture in just plain soil and compare the growth at 2-day intervals for 1 or 2 weeks. Growing a polymer plant makes a great science fair project!

Will radish seeds grow in a cup of polymer crystals without soil?

To make this experiment into an awesome science fair project choose some interesting variables to study. For example, what brand of baby diaper absorbs the most water? What kind of plant seeds grow the best in Water Jelly Crystals? The possibilities are endless!
Look for Steve Spangler using the baby diaper experiment as the 2008 National 4-H Youth Science Day Spokesperson.

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Water Absorbing Crystals | Science Experiments | Steve Spangler Science

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Start by collecting a number of disposable diapers. Any toddler's diaper will work. Invite your students to carefully examine the disposable diapers. Is there any trace of powder-like super absorbent polymer? What do you see? How do you think the manufacturer hides the super absorbent polymer?

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Student Project http://www.selah.k12.wa.us/soar/sciproj2000/vanessaw.html

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The Baby Diaper Secret (Steve Spangler Science)

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The Baby Diaper Secret (Steve Spangler Science)

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https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/baby-diaper-secret-vanishing-water/

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Experiments Archived | Science Experiments | Steve Spangler Science

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For more than 25 years Steve Spangler Science has been bringing FUN to science, with these popular items!

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http://www.babygearlab.com/a/11113/What-Is-Inside-Those-Disposable-Diapers

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This article is part of our review: Battle for the Best Disposable Diapers

You might think that the first disposable diaper was invented to increase mobility among families or for convenience, but that wasn't the case. Disposable diapers were developed by Marion Donovan after World War II due to a cotton shortage. It wasn't long, however, before mothers realized the practical everyday benefits of Donovan's 1950 diaper design: a rectangular plastic covering (initially made from shower curtains) over layers of tissue paper.

Since then, disposable diapers have gone through many changes; including more than 1,000 patents filed in their name. Disposable diapers increased in popularity following the introduction of SAP, Super Absorbent Polymer, in diapers in the mid-80s (more on this below). Today, an estimated 90% of US parents use disposable diapers, much to the chagrin of environmental activists who consider the landfill impact unethical.

Disposable diapers are a great convenience in the modern world, but many parents question just how safe the materials used in disposable diapers are. Most recently, diaper manufacturers have responded to environmental and health concerns raised by many parents by changing the way they make diapers and what diapers are composed of. There is a trend toward greener and more biodegradable disposable diapers, which we view as a step in the right direction. However, we're not out of the woods yet and depending on which brand of diaper you choose, the risks and impacts can vary. To understand the risks, however, we first need to break down the components of disposable diapers into their many parts.

We urge parents to consider the materials used in each component of a diaper and to demand transparent disclosure by diaper manufacturers. A summary of the basic diaper layer components is provided below. If you'd like some more in-depth information you will want to check out this article on Made How.

Inner Layer or Top Sheet - this layer sits next to your baby's skin and is, therefore, the front line on any toxicity or materials risk issue. This material is key. Require your diaper provider to disclose what their inner layer is made of; we found that many of them don't.

Absorbent Core - the theory is that this layer absorbs fluids, but the reality is that when the baby repositions, fluid may be squeezed out of the core (potentially contaminated by the core materials) and back onto baby's skin. To enhance absorbency, every one of the diapers we tested includes a matrix of fluff material and chemical crystals, known as Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP), to soak up and trap fluid (more on this below). The role of the fluff, usually made from wood pulp and may also include wheat/corn-based materials, is to distribute the fluid, while the SAP is intended to absorb fluid and lock it in the core and away from the baby. The bulk of the diaper, especially when wet, is composed of the core materials. We consider this the 2nd most important material to understand.

Waterproof Outer Shell - all disposable diapers include some kind of waterproof material for the diaper's outer shell. These materials are most often some kind of petroleum-based plastic or plastic-treated material. Some green diaper companies use a plant-based plastic (aka bioplastic) to provide the waterproof coating, which you may see referred to as PLA or polylactic acid in their ingredients.

Manufacturers are becoming increasingly aware of parents concerns about toxic materials, so many will list what potentially harmful chemicals are not included on their website and/or packaging. We've researched each individual diaper in our Battle for the Best Disposable Diapers, and attempted to list what materials were explicitly noted as not included as a component for the review. Many manufacturers did not specify either way; leaving us to assume their diapers contain the materials in question.
Arrgh! The Mystery Ingredient May Be Toxic

Vexing to us is the lack of disclosure by many manufacturers about what, exactly, is in the diaper that they expect parents to place on baby's skin 24 x 7 for the next 3-5 years. We urge you to buy from manufacturers who offer complete transparency in their diaper ingredients. It is safer to buy from manufacturers who are not afraid to disclose their ingredients. The biggest brands, Huggies and Pampers, are often considered the most guilty on this score, but they are far from the only manufacturers who limit their disclosure of materials.

Some of this lack of disclosure is supported by our government, such as in the case of Fragrance ingredients, which can be considered a proprietary trade secret and exempt from detailed disclosure. As reported in the Huffington Post and elsewhere, "...due to the 'trade secret' status of fragrances, manufacturers are still not required by the FDA to disclose their ingredients on the label or in any other way." As a result, a manufacturer may bury dozens of potentially toxic chemicals under a "Fragrance" ingredient listing. For this reason, and others (see below on Perfumes), we urge parents to only buy Fragrance-free diapers.

The fact is that there are several potentially harmful chemicals that are known to be present in some disposable diapers, including chlorine, dyes, fragrances, phthalates, and more. We advise relying on the Skeptic's Rule of Thumb when it comes to potentially harmful ingredients:

If they don't say it's not in there, then assume it's in there.

Unless a manufacturer explicitly assures you that their diaper does not include a potentially harmful ingredient known to be commonly used in diaper manufacturing, we advise you to assume it does. To simplify the process, we've attempted to compile a list of material disclosures in our Disposable Diaper review.

Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP)

The secret sauce inside disposable diapers since the mid-80s has been Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP). Referred to by various names such as hydrogel, sodium polyacrylate, polyacrylate absorbents, or in Pamper's FAQ as Absorbent Gel Material (AGM); these tiny crystals are carefully sprinkled inside the layers of the absorbent core of a diaper, being utilized for their incredible ability to absorb and trap fluid (i.e. from urine and wet poopy). And it's not just major brand-names like Pampers and Huggies that use SAP, it is used in ALL of the 24 diapers we tested. And we mean all, green disposable diapers, as well as traditional.

Concerns about SAP are often cited and come from multiple perspectives. Some of these are listed below:

SAP is a relatively new material, having been invented in Japan in the early 70s and only used in diapers since the mid-80s.

It is unclear if sufficient testing has been done to ensure that SAP is non-toxic and safe.

Most SAP in use today is derived from petroleum, and therefore may contain chemical components of concern

In the past, SAP was linked with Toxic Shock Syndrome (however, it does appear that SAP itself was not a direct cause; more on this below).

In our own research, we have not been able to find credible, evidence-based studies which prove that SAP is either toxic or dangerous to humans. And, to the contrary, we have found a number of presumably tree-hugging green diaper companies who have concluded that the SAP they use is safe and non-toxic including but not limited to:

On the whole, we're left concluding, somewhat anxiously, that the body of evidence (or lack thereof to the contrary) suggests that SAP appears to be safe. Perhaps as a testament to the apparent safety of SAP, our founder and one of the primary authors of this article, Dr. Juliet Spurrier, is using BAMBO Nature diapers, which are a green diaper with SAP, for overnight diapers with her children (although Dr. Spurrier notes, emphatically, that if she knew then what she knows now about disposable diapers, she would have chosen cloth diapering for daytime use, and used a green disposable for overnight).

This short video will give you a feeling for SAP's unique water absorption capabilities:

Link to Toxic Shock Syndrome

SAP has previously been linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS). However, most experts do not believe the SAP itself was the cause. They feel that the prolonged internal-use that SAP tampons enabled, provided a breeding ground for bacteria which lead to TSS. In 1978 Proctor & Gamble introduced the ill-fated Rely tampon. The use of SAP allowed the Rely tampon to absorb an entire menstrual flow, encouraging users to use the product for a prolonged period of time without replacement. By 1980, the popular Rely tampon was linked to an uptick in Toxic Shock Syndrome incidents and was recalled. The prolonged internal-use of the Rely tampon is believed to have created an increased opportunity for growth of bacterium and thus increased the risk of TSS infection. The use of SAP in tampons was subsequently discontinued.

Biodegradable SAP

SAP is a plastic and to our knowledge, all of the SAP in diapers today is derived from petroleum. Several companies have stated an intention of manufacturing plant based biodegradable SAP. Similar to the processes used for creating biodegradable trash bags, a combination of cellulose from wood or wheat, and starch from corn, potato, yams or other starch-rich plants, can be used to make a plant-based SAP which has similar absorbency to its petroleum-based cousin, but improved biodegradability. To our knowledge plant-based SAP remains in the research and development stages and is not currently being used by any diaper manufacturer that we are aware of. Because these materials are relatively new, they have not undergone any significant testing. However, the use of natural and sustainable materials and increased biodegradability are a virtuous combination.

Chlorine-free and Why it Matters

In disposable diapers, chlorine is used as a bleach to whiten diaper material. The problem with chlorine is that it emits small traces of known toxic chemicals called dioxins during the bleaching process. The desire to keep baby from being exposed to dioxins is the primary motivation for using chlorine-free diapers.

Dioxins

Based on animal studies, dioxins are believed to have the ability to "cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and also cause cancer." The Environmental Protection Agency has identified dioxins as a "likely human carcinogen."

While dioxins are only left in trace quantities in chlorine-bleached diapers, we prefer "none" to "trace" when it comes to babies, particularly newborns because their skin is so thin. That's why we advocate going with a chlorine-free diaper. Happily, going chlorine-free does not need to pinch your pocketbook. Target Up and Up at $0.14/diaper is both elemental chlorine-free and perfume-free while LUVS $0.11/diaper is elemental chlorine-free but has a clear perfumed scent. At $0.23/diaper, Cuties is also a lower-cost elemental chlorine and perfume-free option. The Top Pick Seventh Generation at $0.30/diaper is totally chlorine and perfume-free in addition to current Editors' Choice Babyganics at $0.32/diaper and Nature Babycare at $0.37/diaper.

Perfume-free Preferred

Perfume fragrances are sometimes used in disposable diapers, presumably to mask poop's distinctive stench. However, an infant's rapidly evolving organ systems are both immature and exquisitely sensitive to chemical insults. The scents found in many diapers are strong and chemical-laden, harboring unnecessary irritants with the potential to cause health issues like diaper rash and respiratory symptoms. Equally concerning, manufacturers are not required to disclose the chemicals used in fragrances as the FDA allows them to consider their fragrances "trade secrets." The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics notes that "in a 2010 study of fragranced products by the Environmental Impact Assessment Review of fragranced products titled Fragranced consumer products: Chemicals emitted, ingredients unlisted, it was found that "each product emitted volatile organic compounds that have been identified as toxic or hazardous under federal law", yet, "fragrance remains unregulated."

Our recommendation is simple: choose a perfume-free diaper. You don't need it, so it's not worth the risk. And, like avoiding chlorine in diapers, avoiding perfume in diapers is easy and painless. A lot of great diapers are perfume-free, including 13 out of the 24 diapers we tested.

Be Careful with Dyes

Dyes in diapers can be found in the colored patterns on the outside of the diaper, in the leg cuff and back elastic, and in the wetness indicator. These dyes can cause skin rash, as they may cause allergic reactions in some babies where the dye touches baby's skin. In a study published in Pediatrics in 2005, switching to dye-free diapers were shown to eliminate skin rashes which occurred in areas exposed to colored portions of diapers.

The photo shown below is an example of dermatitis caused by the dyes contained in the leg cuff of a diaper. Notice the green cuff of the diaper; this green color is created using dyes.

Some manufacturers have chosen to provide dye-free diapers. Top performing dye-free diapers in our test include:
Other diaper companies, like BAMBO and Honest Diapers, use dye pigments that do not contain heavy metals, which they believe is safe and hypoallergenic. TO make things even more confusing or difficult to understand or compare from one diaper to another is the terminology that each manufacturer uses. We would like to include information on dyes in the information we supply for choosing diapers, however, we are finding it very difficult to do so. With words like dye, disperse dye, pigments, colorants, and inks floating around (depending on which diaper you are reviewing) it became difficult to understand. When we tried to delve deeper to sort it out, we found even more confusing information.

There seems to be no clear or consistent use of any of the words. What one manufacturer calls a pigment, might be called a colorant by another. With no agreed-upon definitions or governing body to regulate the use of the words, it is hard to say what is in each diaper. What we found were some diapers that said dye-free had obvious colored portions. When we looked at their websites for more information we found the words pigments, inks, and colorants to describe the colored portions.

Our take on it: we like dye-free and recommend it. Features like wetness indicators though helpful are unnecessary and we prefer to keep it simple. We suggest you look for diapers that have no obvious colors near baby's skin. So while a pattern on the back cover may not cause a problem, colored leg cuffs might. If your baby has a reaction to a particular diaper, that claims to be dye free, we suggest you try a different brand just in case the original diaper did use an additive but calls it pigments.

Fear of Phthalates

If you already read our article, Are Plastics Safe for Baby Bottles, you may know that phthalates are a plastic ingredient of concern in baby bottles. But, they may also be in your baby's diaper. Phthalates are mainly plasticizers, or "substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity." They are generally used to soften plastic, for example in making a soft vinyl, and are also commonly added to lotions and shampoos. In some disposable diapers, phthalates may be used as part of the process to create a waterproof outer liner. Phthalates are not tightly chemically bonded to the plastic, and as noted in the Pediatrics paper cited below, "are therefore continuously released into the air or through leaching into liquids."

Phthalates are on the radar of the medical community - and we think they should be on yours too - due to potential toxic effects to the developing endocrine and reproductive systems, which infants are particularly vulnerable. Phthalate sources are not limited to some diaper liners, but a broad range of "plastic products such as children's toys, lubricants, infant care products, chemical stabilizers in cosmetics, personal care products, and polyvinyl chloride tubing." The American Academy of Pediatrics journal, Pediatrics, published a paper titled, Baby Care Products: Possible Sources of Phthalate Exposure in July 2008. In it, they noted, "Children are uniquely vulnerable to phthalate exposures given their hand-to-mouth behaviors, floor play, and developing nervous and reproductive systems."

Not all diapers use Phthalates. But, figuring out which ones do is a challenge, since US law does not currently require disclosure of Phthalates.

Again, we advocate using the Skeptic's Rule of Thumb when it comes to potentially toxic ingredients: "if they don't say it's not in there, then assume it's in there." Here are a few manufacturers who have gone on record stating there are no phthalates in their diapers:

Environmental Impacts

The Sierra Club has a balanced view on disposable diapers, and they encourage the use of biodegradable diapers if you use disposables.

The largest independent study to date, released in 2008 by Britain's Environment Agency, found that the overall impact of cloth versus disposable diapers is highly dependent on how you wash and dry your cloth diapers. For example, if you wash cloth diapers in a full load with water at or below 140 degrees Fahrenheit, line dry the diapers, and reuse them for a second child you would be reducing your global warming impact by 40%. However, if you use a dryer for the diapers and use water above 140 degrees, your impact could be 75% worse than using just disposable diapers. (Source: Sierra Club Green Home)

Our recommendation is to consider the level of biodegradability in your decision making.

What does Biodegradable mean?

In order for a product to be considered biodegradable it has to meet certain qualifications. Those qualifications are outlined in the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Green Guides. The Green Guides state that, "the entire item will completely break down and return to nature (i.e., decompose into elements found in nature) within a reasonably short period of time after customary disposal." It further goes on to define a reasonable amount of time as one year unless otherwise specified.

So for a disposable diaper to claim some level of biodegradability, it must show through scientific and independent sources that the diaper, or specific components of the diaper, will degrade into elements found in nature within 1 year after it is sent to the landfill (customary disposal location).

Do Diapers Breakdown in Landfills?

To answer this question we really need to look at how landfills work. In general, landfills are designed to isolate trash from the surrounding environment. This is done to help protect the environment from the toxic items usually found in the landfill. To accomplish this, landfills usually employ a plastic or clay liner as a containment system. The goal is to prevent trash from coming into contact with air and water. As trash is deposited into the landfill, dirt is placed in layers on top of it to ensure it stays dry and has limited contact with air. So by design, a landfill contains very little air or moisture, two components necessary for biodegradation to occur.

When you throw away your disposable diaper, it more than likely ends up in a landfill, or as the FTC calls is a customary disposal site. Once there, it is placed in an environment specifically designed to prevent contact with air and moisture. Without air and moisture, it can't biodegrade. Which may explain the estimate of 500+ years for a disposable diaper to decompose. Therefore, we feel it is safe to assume that no matter how green a disposable diaper is, or how much of it contains "biodegradable materials", that it will probably not be breaking down quickly in the landfill (not in your baby's lifetime), at least not in a way that meets the FTC Green Guide stipulations of 1 year.

Are Biodegradable Claims Deceptive?

A recent FTC order did confirm that some marketing of green biodegradable diapers was misleading and deceptive. While the order was specifically about gDiapers, it wouldn't surprise us if the FTC decision is eventually applied to all biodegradable claims for disposable diapers.

If the already mentioned Green Guides are followed, and a diaper must decompose into natural elements within a year of customary disposal, then we feel that all claims of biodegradability concerning disposable diapers, or their components, is deceptive marketing. It is unclear to us that any of the diapers that claim biodegradability are actually in compliance with the FTC's legal definition of breaking down in one year. However, we would assume that in practice the inclusion of more biodegradable materials would result in some portions of the diaper possibly breaking down faster than less biodegradable options; but faster might mean tens of years instead of hundreds.

So Do the Claims Matter?

We think the use of biodegradable materials or the claims of biodegradability of a disposable diaper is relevant. While the marketing of such claims may be deceptive, by leading consumers to believe the product will degrade quickly in a landfill when in practice it won't, we feel the overall end result is still a positive step in the right direction and indicates a product that is at least trying to be better for the environment. Without verifiable scientific evidence, it is hard to unequivocally determine the benefits of such biodegradable materials in regards to environmental impacts. But we can't help but feel it is a step in the right direction.

Toxic Products

Did you know that human feces, or poop as we commonly call it, is toxic to the environment? Did you know it is illegal to dispose of it in the landfill? Even if it is contained in a disposable diaper? Did you know that feces disposed of in a landfill could seep into the water table and contaminate our drinking water?

Some parents cite that a deterrence of using cloth diapers is the cleaning or rinsing of poop out of the diaper prior to washing. Given that any feces is toxic, and should not be disposed of in a landfill, then the same rinsing should happen with disposable diapers. This knowledge levels the playing field somewhat between cloth and disposable diapers and their perceived convenience.

The Better but Still not Great Disposables

With the above information in mind, here are some of our favorite green diapers and how what they have to say about their biodegradability, or partial biodegradability. Remember that once they go in a landfill, their ability to degrade is severely impacted. In other words, while it may not take the postulated 500 years to degrade, it could still take a considerable amount of time.

Broody Chick is the only one of 24 diapers we tested that claims 100% biodegradability. Unfortunately, this very green diaper did not score very high in our performance ratings.

BAMBO Nature claims 80% biodegradability and was also the highest scoring diaper in our performance ratings.

Attitude offers a biodegradable inner shell and padding and was the 4th highest scoring diaper in our performance tests.

Nature Babycare offers a biodegradable back sheet film based on corn and biodegradable high loft for their core and came in 2nd in our scoring.

At the end of the day, a disposable diaper is still a disposable diaper no matter how green it is, or what claims it makes concerning biodegradable materials. The environmental impact is still substantial. So if the impact of your baby's diaper-wearing years is a concern to you, we encourage you to consider one of the top performing cloth diapers.
Our Recommendations

Our advice is simple: play it safe with your baby.

Although it is difficult to know exactly how much the chemicals from disposable diapers can affect your baby, or to what degree their risk of exposure to them is, we'd say it's better to be safe than sorry. Based on the research compiled above, we recommend you choose a diaper with the following characteristics:

Dye-free (or at least pigments without heavy metals)

We like biodegradability for what it implies, but it is not our top concern

No diaper we tested was perfect, but the top three performing diapers in our tests are all good options from our point of view and we'd recommend you give them a closer look:
To learn more about BabyGearLab's in-depth review of 24 Disposable Diapers, which includes a list of the disclosed material contents of each diaper, go to:
https://www.babygearlab.com/topics/diapering-potty/best-disposable-diaper

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What Is Inside Those Disposable Diapers?

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This article is part of our review: Battle for the Best Disposable Diapers You might think that the first disposable diaper was invented to increase mobility among families or for convenience, but that wasn't the case. Disposable diapers were developed by Marion Donovan after World War II due to a...