Dirty diaper? Dirty planet.
Look, we know you don’t want to spend more time thinking about eco-friendly diapers than you have to—especially considering a parent will change around 2,500 of them in just.one.year.
Diapers are doing us dirty and for anyone looking to raise a low-impact baby, this issue shouldn’t be at the bottom (pun definitely intended) of our priority list.
None of us want to examine diapers up close, but it’s what we have to do.
Don’t worry, we brought the nose plugs!
Putting new meaning to making conscious parenting changes, we’re looking for sustainable diapers that are better for babies and the big blue rock we call home. This means we prioritize brands that use sustainable materials and fabrics and no or low chemical use.
Look out for our new Brand Rating System, which will vet brands across multiple criteria, including packaging, product efficacy and fair treatment of workers. You can learn more about it here.
So, which diapers are most sustainable?
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
The Best Sustainable Diapers For Baby’s Bottom
Eco by Naty tops the list with their safe disposable diapers made without 200 common diaper chemicals.
Kudos‘ combine cotton, sugarcane, and trees with DoubleDry™ technology to keep your baby’s bottom chemical and chafe-free.
Tired of bamboo viscose being marketed as eco-friendly?
So is Freestyle, which is why their bamboo diapers are raw bamboo pulp that is 55% more absorbent than leading eco diapers.
Index: Sustainable Diapers
- Kudos Jump to brand
- Freestyle Jump to brand
- Eco By Naty Jump to brand
- Momgaroo Jump to brand
- Kit & Kin Jump to brand
- Ecoriginals Jump to brand
- Bambo Nature Jump to brand
Kudos
About Kudos
Price Range: $78–$88 per 198 diapers
We have to give kudos to Kudos and their sustainable diapers.
This BIPOC woman-owned brand has mastered the absorbent factor, keeping messes contained, especially when used as overnight diapers.
Six sizes of the Ultimate Diaper are designed to fit newborns to babies 30+ pounds.
You can either subscribe or bundle with their 100% natural wet wipes to make for more affordable eco-friendly diapers.
Because your baby (and you) look at their diapers so often, they make them with eye-catching “fun prints to poo in” to help with cognitive development.
Kudos’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Kudos is the first and only eco-friendly disposable diaper brand bearing the cotton natural™ seal from Cotton Inc for using 100% unbleached cotton liners.
The leak protection powers that make these suitable as sustainable overnight diapers come from the DoubleDry™ layers of corn starch PLA and sugar cane polyethylene paired with an absorbent core made from FSC-certified tree pulp.
The SAP, leg elastic, waistband, and closures are still petrochemical-based, but once viable plant-based alternatives exist, they’ll switch.
OEKO TEX-certified, they’re tested to be free of chlorine, lotion, latex, fragrances, parabens, and phthalates.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Their US offices are run by a team of MIT Engineers and moms.
Their TruCotton is sourced from US farms and the diapers are manufactured under the highest standards in Germany.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Packaging consists of sugarcane-based PE bags and a reusable and recyclable diaper caddy made of paper.
While the diapers themselves are not compostable or flushable, Kudos aims to keep improving until they can eventually produce the world’s first 100% biodegradable diaper.
They’re also exploring partnerships with industrial composting facilities to give their products a better end-of-life outcome.
Freestyle
About Freestyle
Price Range: $78–$92 per 168 diapers
The founders of Freestyle thought “parenting needed a fresh look” which is why they started making the bamboo diapers.
Unlike other brands that utilize chemically processed bamboo viscose, Freestyle uses pulp, which also makes their diapers 55% more absorbent than leading brands.
Plus, each one features a cute, abstract pattern reminiscent of the bamboo they’re made from.
They range from size 1 eco-friendly newborn diapers to size 6, suitable for babies 35+ pounds.
Freestyle’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Freestyle’s features a proprietary 100% tree-free, BambooTek™ core made of FSC and Ecocert-certified organic bamboo fabric pulp, not bamboo viscose.
That also means they’re free from harmful chemicals like chlorine, phthalates, and fragrances, making them safe for both babies and the environment.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Freestyle ensures all suppliers follow fair labor practices and meet high environmental standards.
They prioritize working with local suppliers to reduce their carbon footprint and support local communities.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Freestyle uses renewable energy sources and offsets its carbon emissions by investing in carbon-reducing projects around the world.
They also work to reduce packaging waste by using recycled and biodegradable materials.
Eco By Naty
About Eco by Naty
Price Range: $13–$87 per 26–156 diapers
Say bye-bye to oil-based plastics with these diapers from Eco by Naty—recommended by 4 out of 5 dads!
Striving to create the most environmentally friendly diapers made with compostable ingredients, they overcame many barriers to become one of the leading responsible diaper brands globally.
If you prefer doing your shopping locally, know they’re some of the best eco-friendly disposable diapers Target carries.
Eco by Naty’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Made with 100% FSC-certified wood pulp and a superabsorbent polymer (SAP) core, these diapers are certified vegan, OEKO-TEX, and OK Biobased by TÜV Austria.
They’re almost entirely biobased, except for 20% of the leakage barrier.
While not compostable, they are ISO/IEC 17025 biodegradable, as certified by lab analysis from the Biobased and Biogenic Carbon Testing Laboratory.
They’re dyed with low-impact dyes and made without more than the 200 common diaper chemical suspects, like VOCs, parabens, latex, or fragrance,
Supply chain & labor practices:
A code of conduct holds all Chinese manufacturers and suppliers to Naty’s ethical and environmental standards.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Packaging for their eco-friendly baby diapers is made from plant-based materials.
While their feminine care line, disposal bags, and biodegradable baby wipes are compostable, the diapers aren’t, though that’s the eventual goal.
Track this eco-friendly diaper brand’s progress in its sustainability report.
Community & charitable giving:
Instead of hiding their ingenuity with patents, they encourage other companies to adapt and make the market better.
Momgaroo
About Momgaroo
Price Range: $33–$265 per 3–24 eco-friendly reusable diapers
Veronica was inspired to create sustainable cloth diapers after successfully using them on her second child.
The problem was, that she went overboard and had to get rid of some.
Momgaroo was born, and now they offer machine washable plastic-free diapers in pretty pastels and sets of 6, 12, 24, or 36 packs.
With an easy, adjustable snap closure, these one-size diapers are suitable for newborns to 3-year-olds.
Momgaroo’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Momgaroo’s diapers come with three insert choices: microfiber, organic hemp, or organic charcoal bamboo insert—all with different absorbency benefits.
The bamboo insert is soft and breathable, on top of the fact that bamboo is naturally deodorizing, antibacterial, hypoallergenic, and fast-drying—cumulatively preventing skin irritation and diaper rash.
Hemp fabric is strong, soft, and water-absorbent. Trapped air in the hemp fibers is warmed by the body, which can help keep your baby snug in cooler weather.
The outer layer of the diapers is waterproof, washable, and reusable PUL, with a soft suede cloth inner layer.
But Mongaroo’s best eco diapers are the 100% hemp AiO diapers.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The family-operated team includes Veronica (who handmakes the diapers) and her three assistants—her son Henry as the photography assistant, daughter Chloe as the shipping assistant and model, and son Rufus, the baby who loves showing off his diapered bottom.
Kit & Kin
About Kit & Kin
Price Range: £8–£32 per 28–112 eco nappies
Kit & Kin offers something kind for baby skin in the form of diapers sans parabens, chlorine bleach, latex, or fragrances.
And since the most eco-friendly disposable diapers can actually make changing time fun (okay, sort of), theirs feature adorable animals that might make you forget what gross stuff will end up inside.
In addition to diapers in 1-6 sizes, they offer 100% biodegradable wipes, skincare, and clothes.
They’re also by far some of the cheapest eco-friendly diapers UK readers have access to.
Kit & Kin’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
FSC-certified wood pulp, sugarcane, and chlorine-free, bio-based SAP go into Kit & Kin’s collection of the top sustainable diapers.
These are all biodegradable, save for the velcro closures and elastic leg loops.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Their carbon-neutral factory is located in the Czech Republic, where ethical operations are monitored as per their Certified B Corp status.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Your eco-friendly diapers will come in fully recyclable packaging.
Ecoriginals
About Ecoriginals
Price Range: $30–$170 per 1–144 ecological diapers
Offering some of the earth-friendly disposable diapers in Australia, Ecorginals has your baby’s bum covered in non-toxic materials.
While not fully biodegradable diapers, they are 90% of the way there.
To suit your needs, whatever they may be, they offer options to buy solo or subscribe for more affordable sustainable diapers.
For something reusable, don’t miss the EcoNaps 2.0, the world’s first plastic-neutral and recycled cloth diapers—in gorgeous nature-inspired prints that bring some pizzazz to an otherwise poopy process.
Ecoriginals’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
These 90% natural eco-friendly diapers feature FSC-certified wood pulp, undyed cotton, and non-GMO corn starch.
The remaining non-biodegradable 10% is reserved for the front taps and leg holes made of polyethylene and spandex.
Everything is held together with stitching or plant-based glue.
Their recycled cloth diapers feature rPET and bamboo,
Supply chain & labor practices:
China currently possesses the only machinery needed to make their diapers, but they would ultimately prefer to produce in Australia or New Zealand, like their wipes.
Materials come from China, Japan, and the US.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
The factory in China recycles all water, and the New Zealand factory runs on 100% renewable energy.
Beyond using recyclable cardboard boxes and home compostable diaper wraps, Ecoriginals is plastic neutral through Plastic Bank.
Bambo Nature
About Bambo Nature
Price Range: $12–$149 per 26–432 eco diapers
For more than 30 years, Bambo Nature has been redefining the standards of natural baby products for nature’s greatest little miracles.
They carry everything to get you through those formative years, including leakproof diapers, wipes, skincare, and training pants.
There are two choices for eco diapers: Dream or Overnight. The latter boasts a bit more absorbency, but both are equipped with wetness indicators and a fully breathable back sheet.
Bambo Nature’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Made of plant-based polyethylene and FSC-certified sustainably harvested pulp, each disposable diaper is allergy-friendly and contains no dyes, parabens, chemicals, or perfumes.
They’re certified by Nordic Ecolabel and have been dermatologically tested by ProDERM and ATC GmbH.
Supply chain & labor practices:
These sustainable diapers are made in an ethically sound Danish factory.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Bambo Nature voluntarily undergoes environmental inspections for every product, using criteria based on the entire life cycle.
Their parent company Abena uses an efficient diaper machine that allows them to conserve energy and other resources.
Bambo Nature’s packaging can be either recycled or composted, and they recycle 95% of waste, including the powder and dust from their plant.
Why Buy Eco-Friendly Diapers?
Are diapers eco-friendly?
Considering traditional diapers make up around 2% of landfill waste in the U.S., that’s a big baby no.
The US alone throws away 20 billion disposable diapers to the tune of 3.5 million tons every year—where they take around 500 years to decompose.
Then there’s waste we don’t see, like the 100 different viruses that may enter nearby groundwater every time a diaper is thrown away. Or the harmful chemicals that make diapers absorbent.
Completing the wasteful trifecta, traditional disposable diapers are putting that college tuition fund down the toilet too.
Until your baby’s potty trained, those single-use toilet bags will rack up a grand total of around $2,000.
Eco-friendly reusable diapers have their drawbacks (namely, you actually have to know how to wash cloth nappies) but they’re better from a zero waste baby standpoint.
Be sure to wash them with zero waste laundry detergent and while we’re usually proponents of washing in cold water to save energy, you’ll definitely want to use hot water here.
I’m expecting a granddaughter soon. I would like one of each of your diapers so that I can select the one I like best. Hoping this is possible.
Thank you.
Hi Rachael, congrats on the new granddaughter! We don’t actually sell diapers (or anything for that matter) – we just write about them. Best would be to reach out directly to each store for a sample. I’m not sure if they offer this but worth a try.