SACRAMENTO, CA — The California Assembly today approved the final version of CA’s diaper ingredient transparency bill, AB 1901, after passing the Senate yesterday 38-0 with bipartisan support. The bill now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk to be signed into law. Consumer Reports (CR) strongly urges the Governor to sign the bill without delay.
Infants wear disposable diapers around the clock for the first two to three years of life—more than 8,000 diaper changes—against skin that is thinner and more permeable than an adult’s. Yet diapers are exempt from federal ingredient-labeling requirements, leaving parents without a reliable way to know what’s in them.
AB 1901 would require makers of children’s diapers to disclose all intentionally added ingredients—including each chemical’s Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) number and function—on a dedicated webpage on the company’s website. It would also require makers to display a list of all the intentionally added ingredients and an internet website address to the dedicated webpage on product packaging. Consumer Reports (CR) strongly urges the Governor to sign it into law.
“Parents shouldn’t have to be detectives to understand what’s in a product their baby wears every single day,” said Oriene Shin, Safety Advocacy Manager at Consumer Reports. “AB 1901 is a straightforward transparency measure that gives families the information they need to make informed choices. This bill could move the marketplace, because when consumers can compare products by ingredient, manufacturers have an incentive to use ingredients they can stand behind. California’s lawmakers have done their part, and now, Gov. Newsom should stand with parents and sign it into law.”
CR did an ingredient analysis of 31 disposable diaper brands conducted with Made Safe and Made Wise this year. CR found that seven brands provided little or no information about product materials, and two brands disclosed every or almost every material. Manufacturers may also rely on broad terms like “fragrance,” which can obscure numerous individual ingredients. Some diaper materials may contain chemicals such as phthalates and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which have been linked to health concerns.
AB 1901 does not ban any ingredient, and it does not ask manufacturers to reveal proprietary information. It requires only that companies disclose the intentionally added ingredients in a product worn against a baby’s skin around the clock. New York began requiring diaper ingredient labeling in 2025, and some manufacturers already disclose this information voluntarily.
AB 1901 was introduced by Assemblymember Marc Berman and co-sponsored by Consumer Reports, the Environmental Working Group, the Center for Environmental Health, and Children Now. It passed the Assembly 68-1 earlier this year with strong bipartisan support.
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Media Contact: Emily Akpan, emily.akpan@consumer.org