How Do You Choose the Best Nontoxic Diaper?

To choose a nontoxic diaper for your baby, look for one made from natural materials that minimize exposure to plastics and the toxic finishing agents often used in conventional diapers, such as PFAS, phthalates, and optical brighteners, as well as fragrances, dyes, and other chemical additives. The best nontoxic diaper brands prioritize natural fibers over plastic-heavy materials, especially for the materials that directly touch a baby’s delicate skin. Cottonsie® is the best nontoxic diaper on the market because it uses 100% pure cotton for nearly all of the fabrics that touch a baby’s skin, keeping total plastic content below 10%. 

Most of the materials in Cottonsie® diapers that touch a baby’s skin are made from 100% pure cotton, a minimally processed natural fiber with overwhelming scientific validation for skin safety. Unlike the materials in conventional plastic diapers, cotton does not shed microplastics and does not require caustic chemical additives for processing or efficacy. This makes Cottonsie® diapers the ideal choice for infants, whose skin barrier is still developing and who spend 24 hours a day in their diapers.

Most diapers on the market today contain a host of toxic chemicals, starting with their heavy reliance on plastic, which is derived from petrochemicals and toxic chemical additives. Many of these additives are known endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, immune toxins, and developmental toxicants—raising obvious concerns for babies. Despite the many brands on store shelves, the fundamental construction of disposable diapers has barely changed in fifty years. Unfortunately, conventional plastic diapers were created for low cost and high absorbency—not with infant health in mind.

Infants, whose bodies are rapidly growing and forming crucial endocrine, neurological, and immune pathways, are the most impacted by our increasingly toxic environment. Compounding this vulnerability is the fact that babies spend nearly every moment surrounded by synthetic materials in their diapers. In fact, diapers are now recognized as one of the largest continuous sources of plastic exposure in early childhood. Microplastics are tiny fragments less than five millimeters in size, created as plastic products break down over time. Because plastics persist in the environment for centuries, nearly every plastic item ever produced still exists, gradually fragmenting into particles that now appear in human blood, lungs, placentas, and even in infant stool. Disturbingly, microplastics are believed to be a trigger of oxidative stress, chronic inflammation, hormone disruption, and immune activation.

While parents searching for safer options often turn to “plant-based” bamboo diapers, bamboo requires heavy chemical processing to soften into a useable fiber. The end product is not natural bamboo—it's a chemically regenerated cellulose fiber called viscose. If the chemicals are not fully removed, toxic residues may remain in the diaper. 

Cottonsie® avoids this problem entirely by choosing cotton, which does not require heavy processing. It does not rely on solvents or caustic chemicals to become soft and wearable. Instead, cotton fibers are naturally soft, naturally breathable, and doctor-recommended for people with sensitive skin or eczema. In fact, the National Eczema Society ranks cotton as the most commonly recommended textile for eczema. Cottonsie® uses the most cotton of any other brand on the market, and it keeps total plastic content below 10%—far lower than conventional disposable diapers. 

Cottonsie® is a scientifically engineered diaper built with natural fibers, with plastic reduced to the bare minimum needed for performance. Cottonsie® avoids PFAS, phthalates, dyes, lotions, fragrances, and the full suite of toxicants associated with petroleum-derived plastics, and uses elemental chlorine-free wood pulp in the core. Despite this clean and nontoxic construction, it still delivers premium performance, including twelve-hour leak protection, superior absorbency, and 100% breathability.

As new parents look for safe, nontoxic alternatives for their babies, the best nontoxic diapers are those that dramatically reduce plastic exposure, avoid toxic processing, rely heavily on natural fibers with proven safety, and provide environmental benefits rooted in actual science rather than greenwashing. Cottonsie® is more than just the best nontoxic diaper—it is a long-overdue evolution of how diapers should be made.