Question from Carrie
I am expecting our third child in mid-December and re-evaluating our diapering choices. With our last we did cotton prefolds and wool covers, but my husband isn’t willing to do something “that complicated” again.
All the other cloth diapering systems count on PUL for their water resistance which seems to defeat the purpose of trying to be “non toxic”.
I’m now wading through the disposable non toxic options or “eco-diapers” and trying to see what is safest. One thing that seems to be debated is the safety of the Super Absorbent material used in most commercial diapers SAP – sodium polyacrylate. Can you tell me what this is and how toxic it is?
There don’t seem to be any brands out there without it – the question appears to be the amount they use.
OR, if you and/or your readers have any suggestions for non-toxic disposable diapers, I’m all ears. Thanks, Carrie
Debra’s Answer
Well, I don’t have any experience with diapers, but I’m sure my readers will have something to say on this subject.
Sodium polyacrylate is a plastic known as “waterlock” that has the ability to absorb as much as 200 to 300 times it’s mass in water. Health Wyze Report: Toxins in Disposable Diapers has this to say about sodium polyacrylate:
However, shouldn’t this gel be INSIDE the diaper and not be touching the skin?
On the other hand, there is this from gDiaper:
I was able to find a few brands of disposable diapers that seem to not have sodium polyacrylate and other toxicants. There are other brands of so-called green diapers but many do contain sodium polyacrylate. It looks like these don’t (please correct me if you find out otherwise).
[all the links I posted here in 2012 are gone in 2018]
I would look into the Nature Babycare brand as well.
Debra,
Thank you for the information from Health Wyze report. I have looked at the others you mentioned. Unfortunately Tushies is no longer available (bought by Hains Corp and discontinued). The Broody chicks I was curious about but they use corn and wheat substances (Ingeo, I think its called) in place of SAP and I have food sensitive children – sensitive to corn, wheat, and dairy, so while I know it could be a lot more toxic I hesitate to use food allergenic substances in close, intimate contact with my baby. Also they site something called “fecula” but I could find NO information on what that is. I will look again at the Earths best although I think it uses either the SAP or the Ingeo. What I wouldn’t give for just straight wood pulp (like the Tushies used to have).
Thanks again.
Carrie
COMMENT FROM DEBRA:
Fecula is a plant-based starch.