Pesticides, endocrine disruptors, dioxins, PCBs, chlorinated furans, glyphosate, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) … The list is long, and it is not that of the composition of a household product, but that of baby diapers . A year ago, parents of the children’s health association (APS-enfants) took the state to court for marketing toxic diapers. Their request followed a study by the National Health Security Agency (ANSES) which revealed the presence of carcinogens in diapers for children that could “migrate in urine and come into prolonged contact with babies’ skin” Chemicals that can cause eczema, pimples and, in the long term, cancer.
Today, the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) unveils the results of an investigation showing that the levels of these chemicals have decreased since the start of the controversy. Only six out of 32 references guarantee a formaldehyde presence rate of less than 10%. For 23 of them, ANSES cannot exclude an overshoot beyond 10%. Five references are completely in the green for eight families of chemical substances.
“Reassuring” results
Questioned by Le Figaro, Loïc Tanguy, director of fraud prevention, assured us that there were no longer any “real risk“For consumers wishing today to obtain diapers for their child, the alert level being”not the same as in 2019» : «All the layers tested reach a threshold of 10% to 25% maximum. None of the products exceeded the threshold, otherwise we would have recalled the product». «We see an improvement, there is real progress: when we analyzed in 2017, we had two thirds of the products that had exceeded 10%. Today, more than 3 out of 32 contain formaldehydes“, He asserts.
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Formaldehyde, known for its irritant effects, is indeed one of the problematic substances: present mainly in furniture and detergents, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified it as carcinogenic for the man. The presence of this substance in children’s diapers is not, however, a voluntary act on the part of manufacturers: “Formaldehyde is not an added substance, it is linked to the contamination of raw materials, for example by cellulose, present in wood. Their presence is linked to the environmental context», Assures Loïc Tanguy. For Quentin Guillemain, president of the association for children’s health and one of the parents to have attacked the State, it is not the environment but rather the manufacturing that creates these substances, while “there are other manufacturing methods, he explains to Figaro. For example, bleaching the diapers, we know that it produces these substances, but we don’t have to bleach the diapers. These are industrial choices, a manufacturing choice, it is not an obligation. This comparison between the brands shows that some manage to produce diapers without these toxic substances, which is very concrete proof that we can do without».
“There are no regulations in force”
Although these chemicals have been banned in Europe for several years, no regulations on the composition of disposable diapers are in force today. “Companies do what they want: even in the event of fraud, which happened in 2019, nothing could be done because there are no regulations, no threshold“Quentin Guillemain, outraged. No regulation means no obligation for companies to integrate the exact composition on the product in question: ” No layer pack shows the composition. It says that it can be found on their website. I went to consult, and I saw that it had nothing to do with what is called a «product composition». It’s very opaque. This is a marketing article about «wipes». It’s taking the consumer for an idiot, and the consumer has the right to know what he is buying».
On the Pampers website, there is indeed a summary diagram, followed by the detail of the composition of each part, but without exact description. The use of each component is simply justified by a testimony of “professor”, Or by examples of use in other products. For the adhesive for example, the site is limited to explaining that “they serve to hold together the components of the layer and to prevent leaks” and that'”they do not come into contact with your baby’s skin” The composition also mentions “funny drawings” A description that may seem out of step with the expectations of the consumer.
But disposable diapers are far from the only ones containing products dangerous to health: “Several products for children contain carcinogens, and no studies have been conducted on the subject. In infant milks, in children’s sunscreen, in diapers, hygiene products … There are carcinogenic substances. When you have 10% in one product and 50% in another, at one point, you go well over 10%. However today, we do not know the consequences of this exposure“, Quentin Guillemain laments.
A brand to avoid?
The investigation carried out by the DGCCRF revealed that, following the conduction of the tests, still five brands of diapers contain formaldehydes and PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons): the brands Carryboo and Love & Green contain 10 to 25% of HAP, and the Marmailles Plus and Pampers brands contain 10 to 25% formaldehydes, while the Mona Zaza brand contains 25 to 50%.
A scandal, according to Quentin Guillemain, for whom Pampers would have made “false advertising» : «Pampers is one of the brands that have been banned. However, a year ago, Pampers advertised in the press, assuring that there were none of these substances in their diapers. Today, we see that Pampers is one of the brands that contain the most” On the internet page relaying the composition of Pampers diapers, the company still claims that its diapers do not contain “neither formaldehyde or formaldehyde generator” Contacted by The Parisian, Antoine Giuntini, director of BabyCare at Pampers, clears himself and maintains that “the traces do not come from our layers but from the outside. ANSES recognizes that on this type of very tiny traces, it is necessary to perfect the analyzes. Components can also be found in the air. There is a possible margin of error».
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