According to Wikipedia, a diaper (in North America) or nappy (in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries) is an absorbent garment worn by individuals who are incapable of controlling their bladder or bowel movements, or are unable or unwilling to use a toilet. When diapers become soiled, they require changing; this process is often performed by a secondary person such as a parent or caregiver. Failure to change a diaper on a regular enough basis can result in diaper rash.
Diapers have been worn throughout human history. They are made of cloth or disposable materials. Cloth diapers are composed of layers of fabric such as cotton, hemp, bamboo or microfiber and can be washed and reused multiple times. Disposable diapers contain absorbent chemicals and are thrown away after use. The decision to use cloth or disposable diapers is a controversial one, owing to issues ranging from convenience, health, cost, and their effect on the environment. Currently, disposable diapers are the most commonly used, with Pampers, Luvs, and Huggies being some well-known brands in the industry. Plastic pants can be worn over diapers to avoid leaks, but with modern cloth diapers, this is no longer necessary.
The Middle English word diaper originally referred to the type of cloth rather than its use; "diaper" was the term for a pattern of small repeated geometric shapes, and later came to describe a white cotton or linen fabric with this pattern.[3] The first cloth diapers consisted of a special type of soft tissue sheet, cut into geometric shapes. This type of pattern was called diapering and eventually gave its name to the cloth used to make diapers and then to the diaper itself, traced back to 1590s England.[4] This usage stuck in the United States and Canada following the British colonization of North America, but in Britain the word "nappy" took its place. Most sources believe nappy is a diminutive form of the word napkin.[5]
In 1947, a housewife in the UK - Valerie Hunter Gordon, started developing and making Paddi, a 2-part system of a disposable pad (cellulose wadding covered with cotton wool) and an outer plastic, adjustable garment with press-studs/ snaps. Initially she used old parachutes for the garment). She applied for the patent in April 1948, it was granted for the UK in October 1949 and in November 1949 she signed a contract with Robinsons of Chesterfield who then went into full production. In 1950 Boots the Chemist agreed to sell Paddi in all their UK branches. In 1951 the Paddi patent was granted for the USA and The whole of the World. Shortly after that, Playtex and several other large international companies tried unsuccessfully to buy out Paddi from Robinsons, as they realised the enormous potential of the product. Paddi was extremely successful for many years until the advent of 'all in one' diapers.[6].
In America, on the other side of the Atlantic, another housewife - Marion Donovan from Westport, Connecticut, developed a waterproof diaper cover known as the "Boater" using a sheet of plastic from a shower curtain into which was placed a cloth diaper. (Patented in 1951) She later went on to develop a truly disposable 2-part system - like Paddi (with a garment and a disposable pad), but was unable to persuade any manufacturer to take on the product.
What is fascinating, was the inability of the big manufacturers to see initially, the huge commercial possibilities of disposable nappies. In the UK in 1948, Valerie Hunter Gordon made over 400 Paddis herself using her sewing machine at the kitchen table. Her husband had unsuccessfully approached several companies for help.
It was a chance meeting with Sir Robert Robinson at a business dinner that got things going.[6] In America, Marion Donovan could not find a manufacturer. In Sweden, Hugo Drangel's daughter Lil Karhola Wettergren, in 1956 elaborated her father's original idea, by adding a garment (again making a 2-part system like Paddi). However she met the same problem, with the purchasing managers, who were male, declaring they would never allow their wives to "put paper on their children."
However, since World War Two, there had been a quiet revolution in the female population of much of the world, which perhaps business men were unaware of. Mothers now wanted freedom to work and to travel and they could not do that whilst tied to their home sink, washing diapers all day. They wanted disposable nappies/ diapers.
During the 1950s, companies such as Johnson and Johnston, Kendall, Parke-Davis, Playtex, and Molnlycke did enter the disposable diaper market. In 1956, Procter & Gamble began researching disposable diapers. Victor Mills, along with his project group including William Dehaas (both men who worked for the company) invented what would be trademarked "Pampers". Presented to Fred Wells as 'project p-57' (this was the plane Wells had taught American pilots to fly during WWII), Mills stated, "This one will fly." Although Pampers were conceptualized in 1959, the diapers themselves were not launched into the market until 1961.[7]
Over the next few decades, the disposable diaper industry boomed and the competition between Procter & Gamble's Pampers and Kimberly Clark's Huggies resulted in lower prices and drastic changes to diaper design. Several improvements were made, such as the introduction of refastenable tapes, the "hourglass shape" so as to reduce bulk at the crotch area, and the 1984 introduction of super-absorbent material from polymers known as sodium polyacrylate that were originally developed in 1966.[8][9]
Types
Disposable
Ever since their introduction several decades ago, product innovations include the use of superabsorbent polymers, resealable tapes, and elasticised waist bands. They are now much thinner and much more absorbent. The product range has more recently been extended into childrens toilet training phase with the introduction of training pants and pant diapers, which are now undergarments.
Modern disposable baby diapers and incontinence products have a layered construction,[10] which allows the transfer and distribution of urine to an absorbent core structure where it is locked in. Basic layers are an outer shell of breathable polyethylene film or a nonwoven and film composite which prevents wetness and soil transfer, an inner absorbent layer of a mixture of air-laid paper and superabsorbent polymers for wetness, and a layer nearest the skin of nonwoven material with a distribution layer directly beneath which transfers wetness to the absorbent layer.
Other common features of disposable diapers include one or more pairs of either adhesive or velcro tapes to keep the diaper securely fastened. Some diapers have tapes which are refastenable to allow adjusting of fit or reapplication after inspection. Elasticized fabric around the leg and waist areas aid in fitting and in containing urine or stool which has not been absorbed. Some diapers lines now commonly include wetness indicators, in which a chemical included in the fabric of the diaper changes color in the presence of moisture to alert the carer or user that the diaper is wet.[11] A disposable diaper may also include an inner fabric designed to hold moisture against the skin for a brief period before absorption to alert a toilet training or bedwetting user that they have urinated. Most materials in the diaper are held together with the use of a hot melt adhesive which is applied in spray form or multi lines, an elastic hot melt is also used to help with pad integrity when the diaper is wet.
Some disposable diapers include fragrances, lotions or essential oils in order to help mask the scent of a soiled diaper or to protect the skin. Care of disposable diapers is minimal, and primarily consists of keeping them in a dry place before use, with proper disposal in a garbage receptacle upon soiling. Stool is supposed to be deposited in the toilet, but is generally put in the garbage with the rest of the diaper.
Cloth
Cloth diapers are reusable and can be made from natural fibers, man made materials, or a combination of both. They are often made from industrial cotton which may be bleached white or left the fiber’s natural color. Other natural fiber cloth materials include wool, bamboo, and unbleached hemp. Manmade materials such as an internal absorbent layer of microfiber toweling or an external waterproof layer of polyurethane laminate (PUL) may be used. Polyester fleece and faux suede cloth are often used inside cloth diapers as a "stay-dry" wicking liner because of the non-absorbent properties of those synthetic fibers.
Traditionally, cloth diapers consisted of a folded square or rectangle of cloth, fastened with safety pins. The "Safe Diaper Clip," an alternative to traditional safety pins, was invented and patented in 1961 by Edward Moonan of Boonville, NY.[12] The "Safe Diaper Clip" never took off, due to simultaneous development in the disposable diaper industry. Today, most cloth diapers are fastened with hook and loop tape (velcro), snaps, or a Snappi. Hennie Visser invented the Snappi diaper fastener as an alternative to diaper pins. [13]
Modern cloth diapers come in a host of shapes, including preformed cloth diapers, all-in-one diapers with waterproof exteriors,fitted diaper with covers and pocket or "stuffable" diapers, which consist of a water-resistant outer shell sewn with an opening for insertion of absorbent material inserts.[14]
