State Laws Mandating Diaper Ingredient Transparency
Today's parents expect manufacturers to disclose what is in products that come into prolonged contact with their children's skin. They typically read the ingredient labels on baby food, infant formula, lotions, soaps, shampoos, wipes, and countless other products. Yet one of the products that spends more time in contact with a baby's skin than almost any other—the disposable diaper—has historically been exempt from ingredient disclosure requirements. While many manufacturers voluntarily promote certain marketing claims such as "organic cotton," "plant-based," "natural," or "hypoallergenic," parents have had little ability to determine exactly what materials and chemicals make up their baby's diaper.
That is beginning to change. In 2024, New York became the first state in the nation to require ingredient labeling for diapers sold within the state. Illinois followed in 2026 by enacting its own Diaper Labeling Act. These laws represent a significant shift in consumer protection by moving from voluntary marketing claims to mandatory ingredient disclosures, which must be listed in descending order of predominance. Rather than allowing manufacturers to highlight only selected ingredients or product attributes, these laws recognize a parent's right to receive accurate, complete, and standardized ingredient information to make informed purchasing decisions.
With the passage of this legislation, legislators acknowledged that disposable diapers are unique because infants wear them almost continuously throughout the first years of life, resulting in prolonged and repeated skin exposure. Given this extraordinary level of contact, lawmakers concluded that ingredient transparency should become the norm rather than the exception. As Illinois State Senator Laura Fine explained after the legislation was signed, "Families should have easy access to information about the products their children rely on," adding that ingredient disclosure "gives parents greater confidence and helps them make choices that are right for their children."
Diaper Ingredients Are a Mystery
Disposable diapers historically have not been subject to comparable transparency requirements. As a result, parents often found themselves comparing diapers based largely on marketing claims rather than objective information about what the products actually contained.
This lack of transparency became increasingly difficult to justify as scientific research began examining the chemical composition of disposable diapers. During its consideration of New York's legislation, lawmakers pointed to published research reporting the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including chemicals such as methylene chloride, toluene, and xylene, in certain disposable diapers. The legislative findings also emphasized that diapers differ from many other consumer products because they remain in prolonged, continuous contact with infants' highly sensitive skin and mucous membranes.
As the New York Legislature explained, consumers "have a right to know whether the products they put on their children's bodies are safe," and ingredient labeling would provide information "vital to their purchasing decisions, and potentially their children's health." Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, the principal sponsor of New York's legislation, similarly emphasized that consumers had been purchasing diaper products without knowing what they contained. Upon signing of the bill, she stated, "When it comes to products that we use on our bodies or our children's bodies, often for years on end, there should be no secrets." She further observed that "consumers have been kept in the dark about the list and nature of ingredients" used in diapers despite children's prolonged exposure to those products.
Similarly, Illinois legislators concluded that parents deserve the ability to identify ingredients and potential allergens before making purchasing decisions. Representative Justin Cochran dismissed concerns that the law would impose an unreasonable burden on manufacturers, stating, "At the end of the day, this is not a burdensome requirement. List the materials that are in your diapers on the box they come in. That's not hard."
What the New Laws Actually Require
Although enacted independently, the New York and Illinois laws share the same central objective: requiring diaper manufacturers to disclose the ingredients used in their products directly on the product packaging. Both statutes require ingredient lists to be presented clearly and in descending order of predominance so that consumers can readily identify the principal materials that make up the diaper.
Listing ingredients in order of predominance is significant because it allows consumers to distinguish between materials that comprise most of the product and ingredients that are present only in trace amounts. Without that requirement, a manufacturer could prominently advertise the presence of a desirable material—such as organic cotton or plant-based components—even if it represents only a tiny fraction of the diaper. By requiring ingredients to be listed in descending order of predominance, the laws provide parents with a much clearer understanding of a diaper's actual composition, allowing them to determine whether a highlighted ingredient is a major component of the product or merely a small marketing feature.
What These New Laws Mean for Parents
For parents, the significance of these new laws extends far beyond simply adding another label to a package. Ingredient disclosure fundamentally changes how consumers can evaluate diaper products. Rather than relying primarily on advertising claims, parents will increasingly be able to compare products based on their actual composition.
This distinction is important because marketing language and ingredient disclosures serve very different purposes. Marketing claims are designed to emphasize selected characteristics of a product. An ingredient list, by contrast, provides objective information about what the product actually contains. The two are not always the same. A package may prominently advertise "organic cotton," "plant-based," or "natural" materials, while an ingredient declaration may reveal that those materials comprise only a very small portion of the overall product.
Ultimately, the new transparency laws recognize a simple principle: parents should not have to guess what's in products that come into prolonged contact with their children's skin. By requiring manufacturers to disclose ingredients clearly and consistently, these laws allow consumers to evaluate diapers based on facts rather than assumptions or marketing slogans.
