This article includes affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, with no extra cost to you.
If you’re a parent, you’ve probably had at least one moment where you start looking a little closer at the everyday products around your home.
It might happen when you’re expecting a baby. Or when your child is a few months old and suddenly everything from baby wipes to laundry detergent feels worth a second look. Now, another moment like that may be arriving.
On March 16, Netflix is releasing The Plastic Detox, a documentary that follows six couples navigating unexplained fertility challenges while removing plastic from their lives with guidance from epidemiologist Dr. Shanna Swan.
The film is likely to spark many conversations about where plastic appears in daily routines. Most people will start in familiar places: food containers, water bottles, storage bags, maybe even cosmetics.
But there’s one place many parents rarely think to check. The nursery. More specifically, diapers.
- Netflix’s The Plastic Detox is expected to spark new conversations about everyday plastic exposure.
- Many parents focus on kitchen plastics but rarely consider diaper materials.
- New York will require full diaper ingredient disclosure starting in December 2025.
- Some brands, like Kudos, were already transparent about ingredients before the law required it.
- Kudos diapers feature a 100% cotton liner against baby’s most sensitive areas and are OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certified.
The Plastic Conversation Is Expanding
Over the past few years, research on microplastics has expanded quickly. Peer-reviewed studies published in journals including Frontiers in Endocrinology and research presented through the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) have detected microplastics in human placenta, follicular fluid, and seminal fluid.
Scientists are still studying what these findings mean. Causation has not been established, but the presence of microplastics in human tissue has become a topic of growing interest across the medical and environmental communities.
As a result, many people have started thinking more carefully about everyday exposure. For adults, the conversation usually centers on food packaging or drinking water. For parents, it’s beginning to extend to baby products.
Why Diaper Ingredients Are Suddenly Getting Attention
One reason the conversation is growing right now is regulation. New York recently became the first U.S. state to require full ingredient disclosure on diaper packaging. The law took effect in December 2025 and will require brands to clearly list the materials used in their products.
That might sound like a small change, but it’s a meaningful shift for an industry where ingredient transparency hasn’t always been standard. It means diaper labels will soon look more like the ingredient lists they’re used to seeing on other everyday products.
And once those lists are visible, many families may start asking a simple question. What are diapers actually made of?
A Different Approach To Diaper Design
Some brands have started approaching diaper design with transparency and material choices in mind. One example is Kudos, a diaper company founded by MIT engineer and former Procter & Gamble manufacturing engineer Amrita Saigal. Her experience inside large-scale diaper manufacturing gave her a clear understanding of how conventional diapers are typically made.
Kudos took a different approach. Their disposable diapers feature a 100% cotton liner against baby’s most sensitive areas, rather than synthetic materials often used in that layer. The diapers are also:
- OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 certified
- Totally Chlorine Free (TCF)
- Made without phthalates, fragrances, lotions, parabens, or natural latex
The brand was also transparent about its ingredients before New York’s new disclosure law required it. Saigal says her personal experience added another layer of meaning to the work.
“I was already deep into building Kudos when I went through my own fertility journey. The brand was born from wanting something better for babies, but going through that process personally made everything sharper. And now, watching the science emerge around plastics and reproductive health, it’s hard not to feel the weight of it. We made the cotton liner decision before any of this data existed. I’m grateful we did.”
Amrita Saigal, Founder & CEO, Kudos
Another reason the brand stands out in this conversation is timing. Kudos was transparent about its diaper ingredients before New York’s new disclosure law required brands to publish them.
As ingredient transparency becomes more common across the diaper industry, that early decision places the brand ahead of a shift many parents are only beginning to notice.
A New Conversation For Parents
If The Plastic Detox inspires people to look more closely at the materials around them, the kitchen may not be the only place to get attention. The nursery might, too.
Diapers are one of the most consistently used products during early childhood, yet many parents have never looked closely at their ingredient lists. That’s starting to change.
As transparency increases and conversations around materials continue to evolve, more families may find themselves asking new questions about everyday products.
And sometimes those questions start in unexpected places. Like the diaper aisle.
