7 of the Most Sustainable Diaper Brands

Diapers are easily the biggest source of baby waste (no pun intended). When your trash bin starts filling up multiple times a week, you may wonder: What other options are out there, and how sustainable are they really?

‍

Ultimately, you don't need to stick with just one type of diaper. You may use cloth diapers at home, but have some disposable options for when you're out and about. Or maybe you live in a city with a compostable diaper service.

‍

Whichever option works best for your lifestyle, we've found better diaper brands that use predominantly plant fibers and avoid petro chemicals, parabens and phthalates. Below are some of our top picks. 

‍

Wondering about another brand? Add it to our experts' list for vetting.

‍

Reusable Cloth Diapers

‍

When you're looking at the big picture sustainability of cloth diapers, a lot of it comes down to the consumer. Because they're used many times, a lot of the lifetime emissions impact of diapers comes from how they're washed and how long they're used.

‍

The longer they're used, and the less they're machine dried, the more you can do to offset the initial environmental cost of the fabrics being made. Want to level up? Try buying secondhand cloth diapers from marketplaces like Esembly Pre-Loved.

Here are some of our cloth diaper picks:

‍

‍

Compostable Diapers

‍

Since diapers contain human waste, you can't just toss the into your home compost bin — even if they're compostable. They require industrial composting which reaches a much higher heat than any home setup.

‍

Dyper offers a dirty diaper pickup program to get your dirties to the right place for proper composting. Right now, the REDYPER service is available in 20 major metropolitan areas in the U.S. Check to see if it's available in your area.

‍

Even if you can't use the REDYPER program, compostable diapers are made from lower impact materials that will break down more quickly in landfills and won't leave behind a bunch of microplastics, so we still think they're a good choices.

‍

‍

Disposable Diapers

‍

When you can't wash or compost your baby's diapers, the bin is your only option. But before they get there, the materials that the diapers are made of say a lot about their sustainability. When looking for disposable diapers, we look for brands using plant-based fibers, avoiding petro chemicals as much as possible, as well as parabens, phthalates, and fragrances.

‍