DYPER Review | Are eco-friendly diapers worth it?
I love trying out different diaper brands, so when I first heard about a new eco-friendly diaper, I knew I needed to write a Dyper review, complete with all my usual testing!
I ordered a pack of extra-large Dyper diapers (that feels weird to type!) to test out! Dyper claims their product is compostable and has zero carbon footprint, yet is still high quality. Let’s find out together if they live up to the claims in this DYPER review.
Table of Contents
Dyper Review Summary
Pros
- Carbon neutral
- 61% of the diaper degrades in 75 days
- Free of pigments, dyes, rubber, latex, chlorine, alcohol, lotions, TBT and phthalates.
- Work as well as name brand diapers like Huggies and Pampers
Cons
- Dypers are more expensive than name brands like Pampers and Buddies, and even other eco-friendly diapers like Honest
- The bamboo top sheet frayed in my experience
- Can only be purchased from dyper.com or through their app.
You can find more information on DYPER’s website here, or keep reading for my take!
Diaper construction
Diaper Tabs
Dyper’s diaper tabs are just as sturdy as a name brand like Pampers. Only a small part are “sticky” but they hold up just fine with my busy two year old’s running, jumping, and gymnastics.
Diaper Patterns and Designs
Dyper’s philosophy is to minimize their impact on the environment. To eliminate dyes and pigments, there are no patterns or size markers. Or anything at all! So the only “design”on the Dyper is the wetness indicator.
However, their pullups do have a giraffe printed on the front. That way you can tell which side is the front versus the back!
Wetness Indicator
The wetness indicator works just fine, like other brands of diapers that use them. It’s yellow when dry and blue when wet.
Outside Feel
The outside of the Dyper felt soft and cloth-like. It’s made of bamboo fabric called viscose.
Inside Feel
The inside felt cottony and soft. Dyper explains that it’s actually made of bamboo that’s processed into a fabric called viscose.
However, I noticed that when I changed my daughter’s diaper, the cottony part had started to fray and come apart a bit. I’ve never seen this with other brands of diapers.
However, it came off easily and didn’t irritate her skin.
Fit
The diaper fit my daughter well. She’s pretty big for her age, so I ordered the largest size. I was able to fasten the waistband snugly and the leg cuffs held up well.
I change her every 4 hours or so, and the diaper stayed in place, even with all her running, crawling, and climbing.
Bulkiness
I was impressed that the Dyper diaper wasn’t particularly bulky. It fit similar to Pampers, and was well contoured to my toddler’s body.
Leg Cuffs
Dyper’s leg cuffs are nice and stretchy, so they should fit a wide variety of babies well. I didn’t experience any leaking out the diaper legs either.
Waistband
Dyper diapers do have an elastic waistband to keep the diaper in place and hold in messes. If your baby is prone to diaper blowouts or other diaper destroying messes, Dyper diapers should help contain it.
However, their waistband doesn’t have a pocket to really stop messes from leaking up the back.
Absorbency
Dyper lists their absorption on their website:
- NB: 255±20ml
- S: 400±20ml
- M: 520±20ml
- L: 650±20ml
- XL: 700±20ml
Let’s test how accurate it is! I tested an XL diaper by pouring water with green food coloring on the Dyper until it couldn’t soak up any more!
I pour on a quarter cup at a time and wait a few minutes between each cup. The XL Dyper held 4.5 cups of water, which is 1,064 ml of water! That’s more than Dyper states on their website. But first of all, I only tested one diaper. And second, I just used water. Dyper probably used some kind of solution similar to urine for their test. It’s proven that the absorbent ingredients in diapers actually soak up less pee as compared to water, due to the other stuff present in pee.
In conclusion, you’ll probably change your baby long before they pee that much. Even Dyper’s eco-friendly ingredients stack up well against other name brand diapers!
How long before the diaper felt wet?
Of course, you also want your baby’s diaper to feel dry and keep moisture away from their skin. This prevents irritation and diaper rash. The Dyper didn’t perform as well here. To me, the bamboo/ viscose absorbent pad felt wet even after 1 cup of water.
Environmental Friendliness
Dyper really lives up to their claims of environmental friendliness! Large portions of their diapers are biodegradable, and Dyper purchases carbon offsets for each diaper they sell.
Even their packaging uses minimal pigments and only a few different colors!
Are Dyper diapers biodegradable?
Some components of Dyper diapers are biodegradable. The bamboo vicose top sheet, the interior tisssue coating layer, the wood pulp absorbent core, the breatheable film, and the bamboo backsheet are all biodegradable.
In addition, each purchase includes carbon offsets. Dyper also offers a service called ReDyper, where parents can ship used diapers back to Dyper, who will compost them.
Learn more about the ReDyper service on Dyper’s website here.
=Related post: Are cloth diapers the right choice for families who want to be more eco-friendly? Find out why they have more of an impact on the environment than you might think!=
Does Dyper provide carbon dioxide offsets?
Each Dyper delivery offsets 18.3 kg of carbon dioxide. This number is based on a 2008 UK Environment Agency study on the impact of the worst case disposable diaper.
Dyper partners with the company Cool Effect to manage and certify all carbon offsets. Their efforts support the Alto Mayo Reforestation Project. In fact, Cool Effect does more than plant trees. They work with the Peruvian government to stop illegal logging of the Alto Mayo forest by creating eco friendly jobs for former loggers.
Read more about the Alto Mayo Reforestation Project on Cool Effects website here.
Does Dyper’s math on carbon impact add up?
As a nerd, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see how Dyper calculated their carbon offsets. The UK Environment Agency study referenced above states that using disposable diapers for an average of 2.5 years results in 550kg of carbon dioxide generated per child.
Dyper offsets 18.3 kg of carbon dioxide for each box ordered (according to their website here). Each box lasts 1 month.
So that’s some pretty easy math! 2.5 years is 30 months
550 kg carbon dioxide divided by 30 months = 18.3 kg of carbon dioxide per month.
So yes, Dyper is spot on with their carbon offset program!
=Related post: Quickly compare the environmental friendliness of the top eco-friendly diaper brands here!=
FAQ Dyper Review
Dyper clearly states their ingredients and how much of each ingredient is in their diapers on the product transparency section of their website.
TEXTILE CONTENT: Outside Cover, Inside Cover: 100% Viscose From Bamboo Fibers, Legcuffs: 100% PP, Inner Film: 100% Bioplastic, Elastics: 100% Elastane, Others.
COMPONENTS: 22% Sodium Polyacrylate, 35% Elemental Chlorine-Free Wood Pulp, 4% Paper, 9% Polypropylene, 18% Viscose, 6% Bioplastic, 2.3% Adhesive, 3.7% Elastane
Dyper diapers are responsibly made in China from ingredients sourced around the world including Japan, USA, Australia and more.
I emailed DYPER to find this information. It is not available on their website or on the diaper packaging. You can see their full response below. The packaging does state that DYPER are designed in the USA.
Dyper offers a free trial. For $4 shipping and handling, they send 3 diapers for parents to try. If you go on to purchase a Dyper subscription, the $4 is credited back to your first order. Dyper’s sample page is available here.
Yes, Dyper diapers expire 3 years after the date they were manufactured. The manufacturing date and expiration date are marked on the package.
=Want to learn more about other diaper brands? Check out my diaper brand comparison guide here!=
How many diapers do you get with Dyper?
Dyper’s monthly subscription includes free shipping and
- Newborn- 264 diapers
- Small- 224 diapers
- Medium- 184 diapers
- Large- 140 diapers
- Extra Large- 120 diapers
They also sell diapers by the sleeve, which is about one fourth of the monthly subscription. Parents can order one, two or three sleeves.
- Newborn- one sleeve is 66 diapers
- Small- one sleeve is 56 diapers
- Medium- one sleeve is 46 diapers
- Large- one sleeve is 35 diapers
- Extra Large- one sleeve is 30 diapers
How does Dyper sizing work?
Dyper diapers are available in the following sizes:
- Newborn- less than 10 pounds
- Small- 6-16 pounds
- Medium- 13-22 pounds
- Large- 20-31 pounds
- Extra Large- 28+ pounds
It’s interesting to note that DYPER does not use the same sizing as most diaper companies.
Dyper Review Conclusions
Overall, Dyper diapers are absorbent, fit well, are sturdy yet soft, and are gentle on the skin. Plus, they’re 65% biodegradable and each purchase offsets the carbon footprint of producing the diaper. The downsides: they’re one of the most expensive diaper brands. And in my experience, the diaper top sheet tended to fray.
If you’re looking for the most environmentally friendly diaper out there, choose Dyper diapers, find more on their website here!
