Baby Diapers
The Diaper Brand Turning Indonesia’s Used Nappies Into Fuel: Kao’s Merries Diaper-to-Fuel Pilot
Disposable diapers solve one problem by creating another. They keep babies dry and make daily care more manageable, but after use they become a difficult mixture of plastic films, absorbent polymers, pulp, adhesives and human waste. They are wet, contaminated and difficult to separate. Most are buried in landfill, burned with municipal rubbish or discarded into the wider environment.
The Diaper Innovation P&G Proved Decades Before It Became Fashionable
In the late 1990s, Procter & Gamble tested an unusual idea. Instead of asking parents to apply barrier cream separately at every diaper change, its researchers placed skin-protective ingredients directly onto the diaper’s inner surface. As the baby wore the diaper, a formulation containing zinc oxide and petrolatum transferred gradually from the topsheet to the skin.
Smart Diapers Work in the Lab. Why Did the Biggest Consumer Version Disappear?
In 2019, Pampers introduced what looked like the future of infant care. A reusable Bluetooth sensor attached to a specially marked disposable diaper. When the diaper became wet, the system alerted the parent through an app. Combined with a connected camera, it also tracked sleep and helped caregivers record feeding and diaper changes.
Three Markets, Three Very Different Ways to Earn a Parent’s Trust
A diaper performs one of the most sensitive jobs in consumer products. It remains in direct contact with an infant’s skin for hours. It must absorb urine, contain faeces, prevent leakage and avoid causing irritation—while parents have almost no practical way to inspect its materials or verify its safety before use.
The Government That Grades Your Diapers: Inside Mexico’s PROFECO Laboratory
Parents buying diapers are asked to trust a large number of promises. A package may say that the product: • Absorbs rapidly • Keeps skin dry • Prevents leaks • Fits securely • Remains soft • Protects overnight • Contains the stated number of diapers