Are plastic baby diapers still made?

[Osthagen]

I've been trying to work this out. The transition between plastic and cloth-backing appears to have been drawn out across almost two decades.

The first instance of cloth-backed disposables of which I am aware is the Huggies c. 1996.

2000 was a key year in this regard. It is both when I became a DL (through bed-wetting) and when I had a baby sister.
I was given larger sizes of baby nappies for bed-wetting. I tried a number of different brands, of which some I remember being cloth-backed others plastic-backed
My sister's nappies were likewise, sometimes cloth-backed some plastic. I know, I was the chief of changing her! I think it was the mainstream brands that were cloth at this time, and more supermarket-own that was still plastic -- I have some unused Pampers bought for her c. 2002-2003, they are cloth-backed, whereas I have some of her Tesco Value nappies from around the same time, they're plastic.

The last certain instance of plastic-backed nappies, to my knowledge, was in 2013. I have seen it reported that unisex value brands from this time, from the UK Supermarkets ASDA and Tesco, were either still plastic-backed, or had recently become cloth-backed.

When I first had a daughter in 2017, we tried pretty much every brand we could ever find. Not a plastic-backing in sight.

 

[INTrePid]

There are none sold in the US as far as I am aware. It's possible that they are still sold in developing countries where older machinery and production processes are still used. I know that Latin America for instance has been slower to transition to cloth-backed adult diapers so I would guess that the same might be true of baby disposables.

 

[EagleBoy]

the cloth backed disposable diapers are actually plastic backed diaposable diapers it's just got the cloth like material is glud on

 

[MikeDJ]

the cloth backed disposable diapers are actually plastic backed diaposable diapers it's just got the cloth like material is glud on

I did actually see a You Tube video where some one peeled off the cloth like surface over the plastic surface. It took a little work but low and behold it was now a crinkly plastic backed diaper! I then had to try it to believe it and I actually peeled off the cloth cover of a "Elena of Avalor" pull up and yes it was now a plastic backed diaper!! An orignal plastic diaper is still better but it can be done.

 

[MikeDJ]

They dont seem to make any baby or child diaper with plastic backing, it still has plastic in it though....for a time only adult diapers were plastic backed but now so many of them are now clothbacked....Its the ABDL diapers that are truly plastic backed mostly now...The general public diapers are targeted at most who want discreetness and less of a babyish garment , not targeting ABDLs....but theres many ABDL companies now to at least target the ABDLs out there these days.

 

[ade]

the cloth backed disposable diapers are actually plastic backed diaposable diapers it's just got the cloth like material is glud on

The 'cloth' or 'cotton' is actually just plastic, too.
It's either made from oil, like most plastics or to a lesser extent from plant based sources, which are made into 'natural' plastics of the likes of rayon and viscose.

Nappies — AHPMA

Information on disposable nappies, including facts and figures, construction diagrams and environmental issues.

www.ahpma.co.uk

(A bit of deception with the descriptions on that page, wherein it should've given raw materials as 'oil' when also stating 'cotton')

Some non-woven backsheets are a hydrophobic plastic (really just causing water droplets to bead, under controlled conditions) and can usually be told by their waxy appearance and feel; but anybody who's old enough to remember waxing canvas and the like will be able to tell you that the 'waterproofing' fails at the touch of a finger (which is why rubber and plastic were such boons from the outset).
And, yep, hydrophobic backsheets are the ones which typically leak, seep or wick moisture out of the disposable nappy.

 

[billybobtombo]

Sainsbury's cheap own brand nappies Basics, white and orange packaging, (NOT the "Little Ones" you can get today) were plastic and seriously crinkly as recently as 2010 - they're the last plastic backed I saw available in the shops.