The bill AB 1901 passed the California Assembly 68-1; CR urges California Senate to act without delay, citing its recent diaper investigation
SACRAMENTO, CA—Consumer Reports (CR) is calling on the California State Senate to pass diaper ingredient transparency legislation, following a strong bipartisan vote of approval by the State Assembly.
The bill, AB 1901, passed the Assembly in a 68-1 vote last week. It would require children’s diaper manufacturers to fully disclose all intentionally added ingredients—including Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) numbers and each ingredient’s function—on both product packaging and online.
“Parents deserve to know which chemicals companies are putting in diapers, so they can make informed choices about what’s best for their baby. A baby’s skin is very delicate and absorbent, and diapers are in almost constant contact with their most sensitive areas, making ingredient transparency so important,” said Gabe Knight, Senior Safety Policy Analyst for Consumer Reports. “We applaud the Assembly for passing this bill with overwhelming bipartisan support, and call on the Senate to stand with parents and do the same.”
AB 1901, introduced by Assemblymember Marc Berman and co-sponsored by CR, builds on a recently enacted New York State diaper ingredient labeling law by going further to bring ingredient transparency to consumers. This California bill would require not just on-package labeling, but full online disclosure of every intentionally added ingredient, its CAS number, and its specific function or purpose in the diaper.
The need for this legislation is backed by CR’s investigation published earlier this year, which examined 31 disposable diapers and found significant transparency failures across the industry. Key findings include:
- Significant Disclosure Gaps: Seven of the 31 diaper ingredient lists CR analyzed contained very little or no information about product materials. Only two brands disclosed every or almost every material and component.
- Hidden Formulations: Companies routinely use umbrella terms like “fragrance” and “parfum,” which can mask formulations containing hundreds of undisclosed ingredients. Similarly, the materials used in adhesives and popular wetness indicators are very rarely disclosed on packaging.
- Potential Health Impacts: The plastics in some disposable diapers contain chemicals like phthalates and VOCs, which have been linked to potential health concerns.
AB 1901 is part of a slate of pro-consumer, CR-endorsed bills advancing to the California Senate this session, including AB 2302, which would require infant formula manufacturers to test monthly for toxic heavy metals and disclose results publicly, and AB 2244, which would create a first-in-the-nation certification label for non-ultraprocessed foods.
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Media Contact: Emily Akpan, emily.akpan@consumer.org