The U.N. and Oceanic Global held its first virtual event, bringing together industry and celebrity voices and some 3,000 registrants.

By Kaley Roshitsh on June 10, 2020 The United Nations held its first virtual World Oceans Day event on Monday, partnering with nonprofit Oceanic Global as a production partner, making the live event free to attend globally.   Some 3,000 people RSVP’d, with more likely to have tuned in worldwide, said Lea d’Auriol, founder of Oceanic Global. Fashion brands like Everest Isles and Solid and Striped partnered with Oceanic Global, as have others since its inception in 2015. The Oceanic Global Foundation emerged following the foundation’s inaugural ocean festival “Oceanic x Ibiza.”   The 2020 theme, titled “Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean,” arrives during a time of heightened tensions in the U.S. and elsewhere, as the Black Lives Matter movement sweeps across the globe with ongoing peaceful protests. Almost on cue for visualizing the urgency demanded by environmental groups, a week prior Russia declared a state of emergency after 20,000 tons of diesel spilled from a power plant in the city of Norilsk, Russia, into the Arctic Ocean. Melting permafrost was cited as the culprit — indicative of the effects of global warming in the region.   All things considered, d’Auriol is focused on collective action today. She quoted the poet Audre Lorde: “‘There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives,”’ adding, “In that same spirit, the work we do in the ocean and environmental space is inextricably linked with human rights, public health, and fighting against racial injustice.”   Concern for the environment is all-encompassing, but marginalized groups (African American and Latinx people) tend to be the “most concerned” about climate change, as they are often the most vulnerable and exposed to its effects, according to a study conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.   D’Auriol also pointed to a recent Washington Post op-ed by Dr. Ayana Johnson, a scientific adviser to Oceanic Global, marine biologist and policy expert, as further explanation of the interconnectedness of such sustainability issues. This year’s virtual event convened cross-industry stakeholders including model Cara Delevingne, singer and song-writer Ellie Goulding, environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, TerraCycle founder and chief executive officer Tom Szaky, and marine conservationist Gayatri Reksodihardjo, among others.   “We cannot allow a slip back to so-called business as usual,” said Goulding, championing the importance of voting. “Please speak up and stand up for the ocean and nature…[Sic]. There will never be another time like this.”   There was an industry-focused panel on the blue economy, which is centered around the sustainable use of ocean resources for equitable economic and social development, which was led by Scientific American’s editor in chief Curtis Brainard.   The blue economy includes fisheries, renewable energy, climate change, waste management, maritime transport and tourism, as defined by the World Bank.   America’s marine economy, including goods and services, contributed about $373 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product in 2018, according to June data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.   And globally, fish is a primary source of animal protein for one billion people in the world, as per the World Health Organization. Dr. Melissa Garren, founder and ceo of Working Ocean Strategies, spoke of the triple bottom line including people, planet and profit and how technology can assist the goals of the many small-scale fisheries, increasingly where women play an important role.   “There is an incredible amount of opportunity in the private sector space to make a sustainable impact,” said Garren. It boils down to, again, transparency and accountability.   Szaky spoke of how TerraCycle evolves the circular economy through waste management, even taking on the burden of wasted diapers through its partnership with Dyper, as well as collecting cigarette waste in special receptacles.   “The biggest lesson we’ve learned, especially with engaging with the for-profit sector, which for us would be brands, retailers, etc. — it’s not [framed] as much about solving the problem, but how can [brands] win by doing that. The greater the funding will be and the greater the consistency will be — whether they care about sustainability or not,” said Szaky.   Already, COVID-19 is causing major global disruptions to many industries and not just the maritime and coastal sectors, but also metal and mineral mining that would be needed to build offshore renewable energy. As the World Bank noted in its May report, more ambitious climate targets call for more minerals needed for a clean energy transition — or some three billion tons worth of minerals and metals.   As past events drew awareness to issues like plastic pollution, coral reef bleaching, and overfishing, among others, this year’s event urged individual attendees to specific actions like registering to vote, volunteering in one’s community and reducing plastic consumption.   Some scientists like Dr. Johnson even called for an outright reframing of the ocean from victim to “hero,” emphasizing solutions in regenerative ocean farming, algae biofuel and offshore renewable energy in nothing short of a “Blue New Deal.”   While no solution applied to fashion specifically, Szaky mentioned how “ocean plastic awareness has skyrocketed over the past few years,” highlighting heightened consumer awareness and collaborative campaigns with institutions like Parley for the Oceans, which has worked with brands such as Adidas and Stella McCartney to recycle marine plastic into a more sustainable polyester.   But when it comes to recycled polyester, it doesn’t matter if it came from recycled plastic bottles or fishing nets, the material’s impact is a more immediate marketing boost to brands than a permanent waste solution — after accounting for microfibers and lack of scale recycling solutions. “Until we can choose to prioritize climate solutions, sustainable practices, and building the regenerative systems that we need to see for our Earth to heal,” natural disasters and tragedies like the recent oil spill [in Russia] will continue to take place, according to d’Auriol. As the event showed, stakeholders across sectors will have to do more to keep afloat in a tumultuous world where global sea levels continue to rise.

Natural-focused hygiene products have changed the look of hygiene aisles in supermarkets, pharmacies and other retailers. A decade ago shoppers were limited in choice when it came to natural hygiene products—if they had any at all—but today major national brands, store brands and smaller start-ups are all offering their own version of so-called natural baby diapers, feminine care and adult care products. But what is a natural hygiene product? It really depends. Some brands market specific natural raw materials used in their products, like a cotton-based topsheet or sustainably-sourced fluff pulp in the core. Newcomers to the baby diaper market, like Nest and Dyper, are highlighting compostability in addition to their use of fibers found in nature, while other brands talk about being “free and clear” of certain ingredients or chemicals like chlorine, alcohol, dyes and fragrances. Add to this proposed and pending legislation in the European Union and the U.S. limiting the amount of single-use plastics that can be made, and it’s no wonder more companies are getting into the natural hygiene game. “Products positioned as natural have indeed seen growth, especially in feminine care, baby diapers and baby wipes,” says Svetlana Uduslivaia, head of Home & Tech Americas at Euromonitor International. “In femcare and baby diapers, 100% organic cotton and plant-based ingredients are often used as a basis for natural claims.” In the U.S., she says, brands like Cora and Rael, which position themselves as lifestyle brands, have seen strong growth over the past three years to account for a combined 1% share of feminine care sales in 2019 (or combined over USD $31 million). “Add to these two all the other brands that have been expanding online and increasingly in stores—these brands have successfully turned to omnichannel strategies for wider consumer reach—and the natural segment is no longer a niche it used to be,” she adds. Rhiannon Davis, marketing and public relations executive at Natracare, a maker of cotton-based femcare products, says the natural hygiene market is growing rapidly, thanks to a heightened awareness of chemicals of concern, a push against unnecessary plastics and an increased desire for transparency. “We are welcoming new customers all the time – we expect this trend will continue as people move away from brands who push ‘business as normal’ and move towards brands who are committed to doing good in the world,” she says. Natracare first launched cotton-based feminine care products in 1989. Today the U.K.-based brand offers tampons, menstrual pads, liners, postpartum pads, light incontinence pads and wipes made from natural ingredients such as organic cotton, wood pulp and bio-based films made from plant starch. “Natracare has a very long history of trail blazing,” says Davis. “We helped to form the first organic standards for sanitary products – and we have campaigned for positive change to the industry for as long as we’ve existed.” Despite the increased competition over the last several years, Natracare is pleased to see that there are companies innovating in the natural hygiene market. “Anybody who shares the common goal of removing plastic from the waste stream and protecting human and environmental health is an ally of ours,” says Davis. “Of course, there are many who are jumping on the eco-friendly bandwagon because they want their slice of the pie. Some of these brands cut corners when it comes to the integrity of their green claims and we will call out greenwashing where we see it!” Organyc is another early innovator in the natural hygiene space. Its cotton constructed femcare products have been marketed in Europe for several decades, and in the U.S. for over 10 years. While Organyc began as a cotton brand primarily sold in smaller organic shops across the world, today the brand is sold in nearly 50 countries, and is distributed in tens of thousands of outlets including CVS and Walgreens, DM, HEB, Harris Teeter, Winco and more, as well as on Amazon. “These changes came about because of a shift in brand focus towards solving a problem, sensitive skin irritation, something that women told us they were concerned greatly about,” says Rebecca Storrick, marketing manager of Corman USA, maker of Organyc. Storrick says the natural hygiene market is definitely growing and is accounting for all the category growth in feminine care. “Consumers are drawn to new ideas beyond old-fashioned pads, liners, tampons. As more consumers become aware of the ingredients that go into the products they use (not just feminine care), it seems logical that consumers will shift to natural products.” Maxim Hygiene, another feminine hygiene manufacturer of cotton-based products, was founded on the principle of developing safer menstrual care and personal care essentials for women and the planet. “When Maxim was founded in 2006, there were no U.S.-based companies offering natural cotton, chlorine-free tampons, pads or panty liners,” says Jonathan Soniker, VP of operations, Maxim Hygiene Products. Founder Kenneth Alvandi partnered with his daughter Rebecca Alvandi to develop a safer alternative to the conventional menstrual care brands existing on the market. “The problem with conventional products is that the synthetic ‘cotton-like’ materials typically used could cause rashes and irritation,” Soniker adds. “In addition, the chlorine bleaching agent conventionally used to disinfect the raw materials and give the products a white colored appearance can also result in the release of harmful chemical dioxins in the product. This is especially of concern for products like tampons that are being used in the most absorbent part of the body.” Today Maxim offers a range of organic cotton tampons and organic and natural cotton pads and liners. It recently debuted organic cotton BPA-free plastic applicator tampons that are designed to maximize comfort, ease of use and performance. “They combine the health and eco-friendly advantages of organic cotton with the smoothness of a BPA-free plastic applicator that is much slimmer and easier to use,” he says. All of Maxim’s Tampons are made with 100% ICEA Certified Organic and Chlorine Free cotton, which means no added pesticides, dyes, fragrances, rayon, viscose or harmful chemicals. In addition to its Natural Cotton (natural cotton topsheet and absorbent core) and Organic Cotton (organic cotton topsheet and absorbent core) lines, Maxim introduced a third level to its offerings – Pure Cotton Pads and Liners, which feature an organic cotton topsheet and natural cotton absorbent core. “The new line provides the health benefits of pure cotton without having to spend the extra dollars on the organic cotton absorbent core,” Soniker explains. Maxim is also planning to launch a line of CBD products later this year. “Product category expansion is always in the works at Maxim,” he adds. While a handful of small players have dominated the natural hygiene space for some time, major multinationals Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark introduced new products in this segment over the last few years. P&G started with its Pampers brand, launching the Pampers Pure Collection in 2018, which includes diapers and wipes made with premium cotton and other thoughtfully selected materials. A year later it committed to natural products by extending it to the feminine hygiene category through the acquisition of This is L, an international brand of tampons, pads, liners and wipes made with organic cotton. Following this acquisition, P&G expanded its footprint in naturals through the launch of Tampax Pure, a new organic tampon option, and Always Pure pads, which are made with a cotton top layer from sustainably sourced cotton and are free of chlorine bleaching, dyes and fragrances. Meanwhile, Kimberly-Clark introduced its own natural diaper last summer with the launch of Huggies Special Delivery. Made with plant-based materials (23% by weight), the premium diapers feature a baby-side liner and waistband made with fibers derived from plant-based materials such as sugarcane, carefully selected to help provide superior absorption and fit. They are free of parabens, fragrance and elemental chlorine, and dermatologically tested and clinically proven hypoallergenic for baby’s delicate skin. Uduslivaia of Euromonitor notes that the brand dynamic in the natural segment can vary from market to market. “Yes, P&G’s and K-C’s lines have seen growth, however, the combined pressure from smaller brands and players that have been playing in ‘natural’ segment from their inception remains strong. These brands typically position themselves as lifestyle and wellness brands, and they go beyond just emphasizing their composition with respect to ingredients that are found (or not) in their products. These brands typically take a more holistic approach to their role in consumer lives, health and environment – from ‘free from’ messaging on the packaging to communicating with consumers boarder approach to environment (e.g. use of clean energy) and sourcing, support for ethical consumption and community involvement, broader range of products that speak to daily wellness management.” Diaper Developments While much of the focus in the so-called natural diaper category has centered on including plant-based materials or avoiding certain ingredients, some newer brands are taking it a step further by making compostability claims. The company Dyper makes baby diapers that incorporate plant-based materials and PLA films whenever possible. Its top and back sheets are made with 100% viscose from bamboo, bonded to compostable PLA films. “When my daughters were born I found myself with a whole new trash can full of diapers,” says Dyper founder and CEO Sergio Radovcic. “It inevitably led me to wonder, where do they go? What are they made from? The facts were very alarming and, as most entrepreneurs would do, I decided to do something about it. I wanted to leave a better planet behind for my kids, while improving the supply chain of diapering.” It took Dyper almost a year to go from the initial concepts to shippable products. “Our contract manufacturers, initially in Asia, and now in North America, were very helpful along the way guiding us to the right mix of materials and processes that would satisfy our needs. However, we’re not done…as a matter of fact, we’re already on the third generation of our diapers and working on even more advances to the materials and packaging.” In February Dyper announced a partnership with waste management company TerraCycle to implement the Redyper composting program in the U.S., making it turnkey for existing and new subscribers to return their soiled-diapers for composting. “The TerraCycle partnership was the result of a shared vision for the planet,” Radovcic explains. “When we launched our composting service, which was limited by scope and geography to places like Northern California, we knew we had to look for a national platform.” The Redyper program allows anyone in the continental U.S. to easily ship away their diapers to a centralized composting facility and see their diapers (sorted from few parts that are not compostable) end up as useful compost used for specific commercial purposes. Dyper subscribers that opt-in to the Redyper program are provided with bags and a specially designed box engineered to the strictest United Nations Haz Mat shipping standards. When the box is full, subscribers can download a prepaid shipping label from the Dyper Composting Program page found on the TerraCycle website for easy return of their soiled diapers for composting. The waste composted through this program will be used in specialized applications, such as for vegetation in highway medians. While Radovcic admits the market is saturated with both established brands and up and coming companies, he believes Dyper has a fairly unique value proposition. “We are a true Netflix-line subscription at a fixed price with guaranteed deliveries that is focused on a better diaper for a better planet. We carbon offset the subscriptions and provide composting capabilities. These services are simply not available elsewhere and families are responding very positively to our message.” Nest Diapers is another company making compostability claims. Made using plant-based materials such as wood, bamboo and cane, the diaper features a compostable topsheet and a breathable PLA backsheet with a compostable material laminated on top of the backsheet, according to Clark Sather, founder and managing director at Nest Diapers. Soon Nest is planning to introduce a fastening system where the nonwoven is a bamboo-based material. “The majority of diapers in the eco category are the same exact product you might get under a retail brand label or any of the other national brands; it may have a feel-good ingredient, but that feel-good ingredient doesn’t truly make it eco,” Sather says. “What we’re trying to do versus everyone else is pushing further and it’s not just a single feel-good ingredient making it so-called eco.” Nest, which first launched a year ago, has partnered with leading baby diaper compost providers to manage the composting process, including Do Good Diapers in the Midwest and Tiny Tots in Northern California. Nest’s goal is to make any advancements it can to make a truly compostable product, and this year it plans to test a different type of SAP. Sather says they’re also hoping to find a partner that they can scale it with. “We’re going slow and making sure that we can do things right,” he says. Femcare Up-and-Comers The success of new natural products has largely been driven by women in the 18-34-year-old category who cite environmental and health concerns about traditional disposable period products, according to industry research. And, with the growth of e-commerce and social media, newer brands are able to get their products out there and capture this audience on limited budgets. Molly Hayward, founder and chief brand officer of the feminine care brand Cora, says the feminine hygiene industry is on the rise, and the organic/natural segment now comprises 5% of the total market. “Before launching Cora, I learned that many mainstream feminine products could contain synthetic fragrances, dyes and chemicals like pesticide residues,” says Hayward. “From then on, I knew I wanted to create products made without these harmful ingredients and also build a brand that would advocate for women’s health worldwide.” Cora is now one of the fastest-growing natural femcare brands, with 11% market share in the natural/organic segment, she says. Among Cora’s absorbent feminine care products are organic tampons as well as pads and liners made with an organic cotton topsheet. For light incontinence, the brand offers bladder liners and pads made with an organic cotton topsheet. Cora also offers a menstrual cup and cup cleanser, body cloths and body wash, as well as a new maternal care line of soothing sheets, belly butter and nipple balm. “To-date we have eliminated 40 of the most egregious chemicals found in conventional feminine care products, which ensures women don’t have to compromise when caring for their bodies,” Hayward says. “Our pads, for example, use a patent-pending channel technology that enables them to be highly absorbent (our liner can absorb up to 10x its weight) while super thin. They are much thinner than the pads we all probably grew up using and that is because of this innovative channel technology.” Cora also differentiates itself through its social impact program: For every subscription a woman in the U.S. purchases, a month’s supply of pads and reproductive health education are given to a girl in a developing country. To-date, Cora has provided more than 10 million menstrual pads and health education to girls throughout Kenya, India and the United States. Cora products can be found at Target, Wegmans, Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons and Amazon, and expanded to CVS and Meijer stores in the last two months. Organic Initiative (Oi) is another new natural femcare brand expanding its presence in retail stores. Founded in 2015, the New Zealand-based brand of certified organic hygiene products entered the U.S. market in 2018 and soon after launched new Oi Girl products, which offer younger girls just starting their periods a first-of-its-kind line of smaller products made from 100% certified organic cotton. “Our initiative is to remove synthetics and chemicals from hygiene products and make healthy, premium certified and affordable products accessible for all women,” says Helen Robinson, CEO of Oi. “Using products like Oi is a small change that we can all make while we join the journey to a lifetime of safe and healthy products for ourselves and the environment.” As the Oi products continue to gain traction in major stores like CVS and Walmart in the U.S. and globally, Robinson says she believes the use of natural products responds to a need not only for women’s health but for the health of the planet. Other new competitors in the natural femcare space are differentiating themselves in other ways. The NannoPad, created by the company Nannocare, is made with 100% OCS certified organic cotton, biodegradable plastic wrapping and natural Nannogenic technology that utilizes Far Infrared Energy, known to help stimulate circulation in the tiny blood vessels up to 1.5 inches under the skin around the pelvic region. By stimulating these blood vessels, NannoPad can help reduce menstrual discomfort and decrease the need for women to use painkillers during their periods. Nannocare’s founder Paul Van Kleef found and developed the far-infrared technology to work efficiently during menstruation for discomfort relief when he traveled to Asia – something that has been used for holistic health for many years, particularly in China and Japan, according to the company. The catalyst that led to the development of NannoPad was Van Kleef’s girlfriend, who had been suffering from menstrual pain and taking strong painkillers every cycle for years. In 2016 he began carrying out research to create a formulation that can be implemented in menstrual pads, which was tested as effective and safe for use in a laboratory in 2017. The Nannocare team was then established in 2017 along with Dr. Lisa Benest, a board-certified dermatologist, who also has a degree in homeopathic therapy, along with several partners. “NannoPad was developed to be the most efficient and innovative menstrual pads on the market,” says Xiaolin Li, chief development officer. “We created the first ‘multipack’ of pads on the market that contains Super, Regular and Pantyliners. Our pads are as thin as a nickel but with up to 180ml/7oz absorbency and made with OCS-certified 100% organic cotton, which is hypoallergenic.” The Nannogenic technology in the NannoPad is made with proprietary all-natural ingredients that utilize far-infrared technology, which is the same technology the body emits. It is a thermal-energy that has been proven by multiple scientific studies to help with menstrual cramping/muscle pain by increasing microcirculation, according to the company. “The far-infrared energy can reach up to 1.5 inches under the skin, which reaches the area of the pelvic floor,” Li explains. “We have done lab testing and three rounds of user testing including blind placebo testing conducted by third party testing organizations including SGS and NAMSA Labs, which has shown that over 75% of users found NannoPad effective in alleviating their cramps during menstruation.” Another new innovator in the natural hygiene space is Callaly, maker of the Tampliner. Launched in 2018, the Tampliner is a patented feminine hygiene device that combines a tampon and a built-in mini-liner between a labia, which gives the wearer extra protection from leaks without the bulk and bunching of a bigger liner. The mini-liner is held in place by a patented virtual applicator for clean insertion and removal. Tampliner was invented by a U.K.-based gynecologist after 30 years of listening to patients and their concerns with managing their periods. He found that seven out of 10 women did not trust their tampon not to leak. After teaming up with a fashion technologist, who knew how products can work with a women’s skin, and going through hundreds of prototypes, the company developed a product that features a three part system—a tampon, a pad portion that fits to the labia and a pull string. The product is medical quality, hypoallergenic and biodegradable, and is made from organic cotton. “The feedback from users and press has been overwhelmingly positive since we launched in February 2018,” says Callaly CMO Kate Huang. “We are continuing to see growth and retention of our customers which we not only attribute to marketing efforts but the greater awareness of periods, product diversity and customers seeking higher standards in the products they use.” Because everyone has different needs, Callaly expanded its product selection in October to include tampons, pads and liners, all made with organic cotton and in customizable absorbencies. Ewa Radziwon, co-founder and head of product, says they chose organic cotton because it hasn’t been treated with pesticides, dioxins, dyes or other harmful chemicals. “Your vagina is the most absorbent part of your body and our customer’s health is our top priority, so we make sure there is nothing harmful in the cotton we use,” she adds. Inco is Next As makers of organic cotton femcare products find success, they’re also beginning to test products in the light incontinence category. “While products with natural positioning in adult incontinence are not yet as pronounced as they are in feminine/menstrual care and baby care, recent innovation trends certainly start to explore the opportunities in natural positioning to catch up with developments in other hygiene categories,” says Uduslivaia of Euromonitor. In the past year or so she says more incontinence brands have featured more natural ingredients and with natural positioning, including Japanese hygiene manufacturer Unicharm which has introduced a number of new products in light incontinence featuring organic cotton. Last month Organyc announced a complete redesign and launch of its cotton-based light incontinence line. The line of products uses 100% certified organic cotton on the topsheet and a cotton-balanced absorbent core that has a mix of cotton and super absorbents to pull wetness away and maintain a dry feeling. “There is a trend towards natural products across many categories, and of course this trend carries over to light incontinence,” says Storrick. “But more importantly, consumers are looking for the benefits a natural product can bring, that doesn’t force them to make tradeoffs.” Corman, the owners and manufacturers of the Organyc brand, have been focused on converting cotton into consumer products for several decades. “Corman understands the properties of cotton and recognized a deficiency in traditional light incontinence products that cotton could overcome,” she adds. “That issue is skin irritation, something Corman solved in the feminine care category. Fortunately Corman also has know-how in the construction of the core or the product, where absorbency takes place. Using cotton in the core, balanced carefully with super absorbents, has created a product that delivers on the most important benefit, leakage prevention. This construction also manages odor, another common problem with traditional products.” The line comes in Ultra-Thin Liners, Moderate Pads, Maximum Pads and Ultimate Pads, and will be available in the U.S. next month. Meanwhile Cora added light bladder leakage products made with organic cotton to its lineup last summer. “Cora has relentlessly questioned traditional women’s personal care and seized opportunities to innovate, particularly in categories where both products and notions of womanhood are antiquated and out of touch,” says Hayward. “Bladder leakage among women in their 30s and 40s is an issue no brand has addressed, so Cora took a bold new perspective through a woman-led design process to create a product that is finally anatomically correct and technically modern.” Cora’s liner for light bladder leaks rethinks the design of traditional pads with a first-of-its-kind fan shape and ultra-absorbent pad at the front of the liner to give women more coverage where leaks actually happen.

The United Nations held its first virtual World Oceans Day event on Monday, partnering with nonprofit Oceanic Global as a production partner, making the live event free to attend globally.   Some 3,000 people RSVP’d, with more likely to have tuned in worldwide, said Lea d’Auriol, founder of Oceanic Global. Fashion brands like Everest Isles and Solid and Striped partnered with Oceanic Global, as have others since its inception in 2015. The Oceanic Global Foundation emerged following the foundation’s inaugural ocean festival “Oceanic x Ibiza.”   The 2020 theme, titled “Innovation for a Sustainable Ocean,” arrives during a time of heightened tensions in the U.S. and elsewhere, as the Black Lives Matter movement sweeps across the globe with ongoing peaceful protests. Almost on cue for visualizing the urgency demanded by environmental groups, a week prior Russia declared a state of emergency after 20,000 tons of diesel spilled from a power plant in the city of Norilsk, Russia, into the Arctic Ocean. Melting permafrost was cited as the culprit — indicative of the effects of global warming in the region.   All things considered, d’Auriol is focused on collective action today. She quoted the poet Audre Lorde: “‘There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives,”’ adding, “In that same spirit, the work we do in the ocean and environmental space is inextricably linked with human rights, public health, and fighting against racial injustice.”   Concern for the environment is all-encompassing, but marginalized groups (African American and Latinx people) tend to be the “most concerned” about climate change, as they are often the most vulnerable and exposed to its effects, according to a study conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication.   D’Auriol also pointed to a recent Washington Post op-ed by Dr. Ayana Johnson, a scientific adviser to Oceanic Global, marine biologist and policy expert, as further explanation of the interconnectedness of such sustainability issues. This year’s virtual event convened cross-industry stakeholders including model Cara Delevingne, singer and song-writer Ellie Goulding, environmentalist and author Bill McKibben, TerraCycle founder and chief executive officer Tom Szaky, and marine conservationist Gayatri Reksodihardjo, among others.   “We cannot allow a slip back to so-called business as usual,” said Goulding, championing the importance of voting. “Please speak up and stand up for the ocean and nature…[Sic]. There will never be another time like this.”   There was an industry-focused panel on the blue economy, which is centered around the sustainable use of ocean resources for equitable economic and social development, which was led by Scientific American’s editor in chief Curtis Brainard.   The blue economy includes fisheries, renewable energy, climate change, waste management, maritime transport and tourism, as defined by the World Bank.   America’s marine economy, including goods and services, contributed about $373 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product in 2018, according to June data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.   And globally, fish is a primary source of animal protein for one billion people in the world, as per the World Health Organization. Dr. Melissa Garren, founder and ceo of Working Ocean Strategies, spoke of the triple bottom line including people, planet and profit and how technology can assist the goals of the many small-scale fisheries, increasingly where women play an important role.   “There is an incredible amount of opportunity in the private sector space to make a sustainable impact,” said Garren. It boils down to, again, transparency and accountability.   Szaky spoke of how TerraCycle evolves the circular economy through waste management, even taking on the burden of wasted diapers through its partnership with Dyper, as well as collecting cigarette waste in special receptacles.   “The biggest lesson we’ve learned, especially with engaging with the for-profit sector, which for us would be brands, retailers, etc. — it’s not [framed] as much about solving the problem, but how can [brands] win by doing that. The greater the funding will be and the greater the consistency will be — whether they care about sustainability or not,” said Szaky.   Already, COVID-19 is causing major global disruptions to many industries and not just the maritime and coastal sectors, but also metal and mineral mining that would be needed to build offshore renewable energy. As the World Bank noted in its May report, more ambitious climate targets call for more minerals needed for a clean energy transition — or some three billion tons worth of minerals and metals.   As past events drew awareness to issues like plastic pollution, coral reef bleaching, and overfishing, among others, this year’s event urged individual attendees to specific actions like registering to vote, volunteering in one’s community and reducing plastic consumption.   Some scientists like Johnson even called for an outright reframing of the ocean from victim to “hero,” emphasizing solutions in regenerative ocean farming, algae biofuel and offshore renewable energy in nothing short of a “Blue New Deal.”   While no solution applied to fashion specifically, Szaky mentioned how “ocean plastic awareness has skyrocketed over the past few years,” highlighting heightened consumer awareness and collaborative campaigns with institutions like Parley for the Oceans, which has worked with brands such as Adidas and Stella McCartney to recycle marine plastic into a more sustainable polyester.   But when it comes to recycled polyester, it doesn’t matter if it came from recycled plastic bottles or fishing nets, the material’s impact is a more immediate marketing boost to brands than a permanent waste solution — after accounting for microfibers and lack of scale recycling solutions. “Until we can choose to prioritize climate solutions, sustainable practices, and building the regenerative systems that we need to see for our Earth to heal,” natural disasters and tragedies like the recent oil spill [in Russia] will continue to take place, according to d’Auriol. As the event showed, stakeholders across sectors will have to do more to keep afloat in a tumultuous world where global sea levels continue to rise.

Shipping boxes of dirty diapers across the country seems inefficient and unnecessary.   When I had my babies, I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers – not because I was concerned about the environmental impact (I had yet to become a professional TreeHugger!), but because it would save money. Sure enough, those diapers lasted for three children and hung to dry most days. As my environmental views advanced along with my parenting, I felt relief at the choice I'd made. It was deeply satisfying to have a 'closed loop' diapering system. Nothing entered or left my house except natural laundry detergent, my kids had an endless supply of clean, dry diapers, and I never worried about running out.   So naturally I was curious when I saw an article called "Diaper Composting: Is This New Service Right for Your Family?" I'd never heard of diaper composting before. This could be a good solution for so many families that don't want to take on the extra work associated with cloth (even though it's not as bad as it seems). Alas, this diaper composting turned out to be less eco-friendly than I'd hoped.   It involves a partnership between a disposable diaper company called DYPER, which appears to make some of the 'cleanest' disposable diapers on the market, with bamboo fibers that are free from chlorine, latex, alcohol, perfumes, PVC, lotions, and phthalates, and TerraCycle, the recycling service that will recycle pretty much anything you send in. But in order to take advantage of it, parents who are already receiving a regular DYPER subscription must opt in to the (very expensive) REDYPER service and ship their boxes of poopy diapers to TerraCycle for proper composting in an industrial facility.   This is spun as a profoundly green act by DYPER's CEO Sergio Radovcic, who told Earth911, "It wasn’t easy to develop the most fully compostable diaper ever created. But we are thrilled that our partnership with TerraCycle will make it easy for families to keep their used diapers out of landfills." It sounds great, but it left me scratching my head.   The environmental impact of shipping disposable diapers to parents, and then shipping them – wet, dirty, and heavy – across the country to TerraCycle for composting, struck me as absurd and wasteful. So I reached out to Terracycle's CEO Tom Szaky for comment. He explained that the REDYPER program is coordinated with UPS, "one of the most sustainable and efficient shipping companies in the world. When the waste is returned to TerraCycle's various distribution centers for industrial composting the shipments are bundled into existing routes that UPS is already driving." Furthermore, DYPER purchases carbon offsets on behalf of its subscribers. Szaky went on:     DYPER has some good things going for it. Its design is progressive, made from fast-growing bamboo with minimal synthetic chemicals, which contributes toward that initial driver of environmental damage that Szaky mentioned – a decrease in resource extraction. Furthermore, the company says its diapers can be composted in private backyards, so long as they don't contain poop. (This is huge news, and quite possibly the bigger, greener story here.) And Szaky added that the shipping option opens a door to the ~97 percent of Americans who do not have access to curbside industrial composting.   But I remain unconvinced that it is a good idea to ship dirty diapers around the country for industrial composting, even if they are synced up with other UPS deliveries. (We have far too many superfluous packages criss-crossing the country anyway and could do to reduce our online shopping habit.) What I dislike about the REDYPER program is that it clings to a culture of convenience and perpetuates disposable, single-use products at a time when we should be challenging people to adjust their style of consumption and embrace reusables. We've written about this a lot on TreeHugger within the context of food and drink packaging, saying, "We need to change the culture, not the cup."  

What are the alternatives?

  The logic about changing culture, not cup, applies to diapers, too. We can redesign for compostable and recyclable packaging (or diapers) in order to assuage the guilt associated with using disposable products, but the fact remains that there are much simpler, greener, and more affordable solutions right in front of us, if you're serious about reducing planetary impact. They just take a bit more work. In the case of food, these simpler, greener solutions are reusable mugs and food containers. In the case of diapers, it's cloth (preferably thin, flat diapers that wash and dry quickly without covers attached) and other practices such as disposing of poop in a toilet or bokashi composter, thus making it feasible to compost a disposable such as a DYPER or to do laundry in cold water.   Parents could also put in the effort to do early potty training, a.k.a. elimination communication, which has the primary benefit of reducing the number of poopy diapers. These options are more efficient at reducing one's waste footprint, but considerably less glamorous than signing up for a diaper subscription.   The composting idea deserves further exploration, but I think it would be preferable for municipalities to spearhead the initiative, offering diaper composting alongside local organic waste pickup. That way, the waste wouldn't be travelling beyond our own towns and cities to be composted. I don't think anyone anywhere should be shipping their waste to other places if it can be avoided. We've learned this the hard way with recycling, so why extend it to human feces?   The goal of the REDYPER-TerraCycle service is well-intentioned, but I fear it is misplaced. Closed-loop diapering is a worthy pursuit, and industrially composting diapers does achieve this, but there are more efficient ways of diminishing one's footprint without relying on dirty fossil fuels to push them around the country. We need to get serious about what's green and what's not (there's good reason why the island nation of Vanuatu banned disposable diapers outright) and to continue challenging ourselves to do a better job every day.

A baby will soil an average of 5,000 to 6,000 disposable diapers before they’re potty trained. And many of them will end up in a landfill.   Made from multiple materials — plastic, wood pulp, superabsorbent synthetic polymers  — diapers are difficult to break down. It’s estimated that the average diaper can take 500 years to biodegrade. Since the 1950s, when the disposable diaper came to be, it has grown to a $65 billion market worldwide. In the United States and Europe, plastic diapers are one of the largest categories of nonbiodegradable items in landfills; the problem is even worse in other parts of the world.   "Disposable diapers have become one of the most urgent environmental problems in our area, especially where waste removal services are limited or nonexisting," said Philip Owen, who works with South African water conservation group Geasphere, told HuffPost.   That’s why Sergio Radovcic, CEO of diaper subscription company Dyper, credits his children — "exhibits A, B and C" — as one of the reasons he decided to offer a composting service for its diapers.   Radovcic said that after having their second child, he and his wife began to realize that the waste they were generating from diapers was stacking up rather quickly.   "You have this diaper you’re applying to a child early on seven to 10 times a day and then rolling it into a burrito-like thing and tossing it away to your regular garbage," he said.   Radovic said when he looked at how much his family was spending on diapers, he realized there was an opportunity to lessen the environmental impact while increasing convenience for parents.   That’s when he founded Dyper in 2018, which offers home delivery of a four-week supply of diapers for $68. Its diapers are made from bamboo, widely credited as a sustainable or renewable material. Dyper received a non-disclosed investment from HCAP Partners, a California-based private equity firm, in October.   Numerous companies are using bamboo as an alternative to traditional timber or fibers. For example, there's EcoPlanet Bamboo that is working to industrialize bamboo and bigger companies such as Kimberly-Clark, which announced nearly a decade ago that it would "source 50 percent of its wood fiber to alternative sources by 2025." Dell has engineered similar plans for its packaging.   Using bamboo and eliminating the use of chlorine, latex, alcohol, perfumes, polyvinyl chloride, lotions, tributyltin and phthalates for the diapers made them compostable, and therefore, potentially better for the environment. But the infrastructure needed for people to compost the diapers on their own is lacking across the U.S. and the rest of the world. So Dyper had to work on creating its own.       In February, the company announced Redyper, a partnership with TerraCycle, the Trenton, New Jersey-based recycling company, to compost its diapers. Prior to that — nearly a year ago — Dyper partnered with local services in select cities such as Earth Baby, a compostable diaper service in the San Francisco Bay Area, with which it is redirecting about 10 tons of diapers from landfill per week. It plans to expand this type of partnership to 10 other cities "in the market where the demand is" for local composting and is still partnering with Earth Baby.   "We looked at that and said, can we expand this nationally?" Radovcic recalled.   Caregivers who use the Redyper service — an additional $39 on top of the $68 diaper subscription — are given biodegradable bags to store the diapers as they are used and a cardboard box that is engineered to meet the United Nations’ strictest HAZMAT shipping standards. The bags are large enough to hold two to three weeks' worth of diapers. From there, users can print a label and schedule a UPS pickup.   When TerraCycle receives the diapers, it checks them in and aggregates them, then moves them to a compost facility. There, they are placed in a hot commercial compost, which typically takes between three to six months — depending on the mixture — to be safe to use for vegetation growth purposes.   Radovcic notes that the compost is typically not used for production of fruits and vegetables meant for human consumption because of the fear that some pathogens would be in the mix.   The Redyper service is available only in the U.S., but TerraCycle, known for recycling the unrecyclable, also has a partnership with P&G's Pampers brand to recycle diapers in Amsterdam, which it plans to expand into Asia and other parts of Europe.   P&G started working to reduce its diaper waste in 2018, when it launched a joint venture with Gruppo Angelini, a large Italian health care products company, to introduce recycling infrastructure for soiled disposable baby diapers, feminine sanitary napkins and adult incontinence napkins in Italy, near Venice.   "We have invented a technology that can turn 100 percent of diapers into valuable material, like plastic cellulose and absorbent material," Virginie Helias, vice president of global sustainability at P&G, told GreenBiz at the time. This effort is part of a larger effort at P&G, which formed its Global Asset Recovery Purchases team in 2008 to find new uses for the waste at its industrial sites. Since that program started, P&G has saved more than $2 billion and helped divert 4.5 million metric tons of waste from landfill, according to its 2018 Citizenship Report (PDF).     What separates diapers that are composted from ones that are recycled is their source materials. Compostable diapers eventually biodegrade, while the recycled ones are sanitized and separated into their different components, such as the cellulosic material and plastic that can be reused.   There’s also a third option emerging — a return to the reusable cotton diaper — that TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky said the company is planning to launch itself later this year.   "I hope consumers wake up and realize that diapers don't have to be a big waste stream and start voting with their dollar for diapers that offer circular solutions," Szaky said. "Then hopefully other types of companies will be inspired to do similar activities whether with disposables or reusables or compostables."   Radovcic is hoping for the same and notes that Dyper is not the only company doing this work.   "We’re not the only ones that realize a problem. We’re certainly not the only ones that are going to have a solution," he said. "But maybe having a little bit of a race with some of our larger competitors where they’re forced to maybe adopt some of this approach faster, personally as an entrepreneur and as a father, I think would be an incredible success."

Today, environmentally conscious parents can feed their babies organic baby food and use recyclable non-BPA plastics. They can buy 100 percent fair trade cotton clothing and hand-crafted toys. These are easy choices.   But many parents still face the diaper dilemma. Baby's go through a lot of diapers and that means either using cloth which is labor intensive for a new mom or dad or going the disposable route. While this is more convenient, 20 billion diapers (even the greener brands) are tossed into landfills in the US every year according to the EPA and they can take 500 years to decompose. One company came up with a better option.   Parents can now ship their baby's dirty diapers  to be composted through a diaper subscription company called Dyper. The company that makes sustainable bamboo diapers has operated a subscription service since 2018 according to Fast Company.   The diapers are free of chlorine, latex, alcohol, perfumes, PVC, lotions, the chemicals tributyltin, or phthalates, and ink. While the diapers have always been compostable, city dwellers have had no way to do so until now.   “We talked to many moms that wish that they had that opportunity to compost, because they’re living in New York City in an apartment on the 24th floor and they have no option to do that,” but Taylor Shearer, content manager at Dyper told Fast Company.   Dyper just teamed up with TerraCycle to launch its ReDyper program where subscribers can send back the soiled diapers in special bags and boxes that meet the UN's HazMat shipping standards. When the box is full, parents only have to print out a prepaid shipping label and ship them. TerraCycle will compost the diapers to be used in places like the green areas of highway medians.   “It’s got to be super convenient. It’s got to be, frankly, as close to convenient as possible relative to throwing it out,” said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. The company has run a small recycling center in Amsterdam for Pampers but nothing on this large a scale or with compostable diapers before.   There is an additional charge for the ReDyper system over the cost of the regular Dyper subscription. While these diapers cost more than picking up disposables at a local store, the value of these diapers are that they are eco-friendly.   “The value isn’t just calculated on the specific cost. We are not the least expensive and we’re not the most expensive, but we feel when we take this whole approach of using safe ingredients such as bamboo and nontoxic chemicals, and we don’t print on our diapers and our boxes, and offsetting, and trying to compost and getting people to compost, we feel the value is very real,” Bruce Miller, president of Dyper.   The company pledges to keep reinventing their products and improving their supply chain to become as  environmentally friendly as possible. Now we can protect our babies from chemicals and protect our planet too.

Environmentally aware parents think long and hard before saying yes to cloth or disposable diapers. They want to make the right decision for their baby, lifestyle, and earth.   For those who have never been satisfied with their diaper situation or who are just learning about their choices, there is something new to consider — a diaper composting service.   Composting Diapers by Mail   DYPER has launched the first national diaper composting service. You read that right — there is a service that takes your dirty disposable diapers off your hands and composts them for the greater good.   DYPER, a subscription-based bamboo diaper company, has partnered with TerraCycle, a waste management company, to offer REDYPER. DYPER customers can opt-in to the REDYPER service, receive a specially engineered waste-grade box, label, and materials, and send their soiled diapers back to TerraCycle for composting.   Can you really send poopy diapers through the mail? Do you even want to think about packing them up and putting them in a box? DYPER is counting on eco-conscious parents to do just that.   “We’re committed to making diapering effortless for parents, gentle for babies, and kind to the planet,” says Sergio Radovcic, the CEO of DYPER. “It wasn’t easy to develop the most fully compostable diaper ever created. But, we are thrilled that our partnership with TerraCycle will make it easy for families to keep their used diapers out of landfills.”   The Logistics of REDYPER   Your baby knows what to do in those carefully procured bamboo diapers. Parents want to responsibly dispose of a necessary evil. The logistics:  

• Enroll in a DYPER monthly subscription.
• Opt-in to the REDYPER program.
• Receive bags and a specially designed box engineered to the strictest United Nations HazMat shipping standards.
• Pack your box with soiled diapers.
• When the box is full, download a prepaid shipping label and mail the diapers.

  Composting DYPER diapers at home has always been possible. The TerraCycle partnership now saves families the time and effort of do-it-yourself composting and puts the burden on the REDYPER service, trusting that they are still doing their part for the environment without adding to the 20 billion diapers added to U.S. landfills every year. The waste composted through the program will be used in specialized applications, such as for vegetation in highway medians.   All the Questions   Eco-friendliness in the baby market isn’t always easy to come by, especially when you’re talking diapers. When a viable solution to disposable diapers in landfills hits the market, it’s worth looking into. But a big question is: What’s the carbon footprint of all that shipping?   The new diapers are shipped to the customer. Customers ship dirty diapers back in a separate and carefully manufactured box for composting. That’s a lot of back and forth — are the environmental benefits of composting the diapers negated by the CO2 impact of shipping?   For each shipment of diapers you receive, DYPERS purchases carbon offsets to help reforestation efforts. Subscribers receive an electronic certificate showing the amount of carbon offsets purchased on their behalf each time a shipment is sent.   Maybe for some parents, the environmental impact of their mailing habits is small compared to the huge impact just one baby’s three or so years’ worth of diapers can make in a landfill.   And possibly the carbon offsets that DYPERS purchases for each customer delivery help reduce concerns over all that shipping. But regardless of the environmental implications, it just might take a little convincing to get past the idea of a box full of poopy diapers — where do you store that in your house while your baby is working hard to fill it up?

US start-up Dyper has introduced commercial composting to its nappy subscription service to appeal to waste-conscious parents. In 2017, disposable nappies accounted for over 4.2 million tonnes of refuse in the US alone (EPA, 2019).   Dyper has collaborated with US recycling brand TerraCycle to provide parents with hazmat-standard bags and boxes, allowing soiled diapers to be safely sent for centralised composting. The compost can then be used to nourish public vegetation. For parents who compost at home, the website gives information on how to safely and consciously dispose of their products.   The company is building on its eco ethos further; its nappies are made from responsibly sourced bamboo and viscose fibres, which are much kinder to the planet. Traditional options tend to contain harmful substances such as plastics and chemicals. Dyper also offsets its shipping and waste carbon footprint with non-profit Cool Effect to give consumers additional peace of mind.   Dyper launched in 2018 as a diaper subscription service, offering delivery of up to 260 nappies for $68 per month. The new service, named ReDyper, costs an additional $39 per month.   Brands that provide eco-consumers with much-needed sustainable alternatives are sure to win in this time of growing climate consciousness. See Reaching Eco Demographics in our Macro Trend Towards Our Sustainable Future for more on how to appeal to the diverse concerns of green consumers.

Environmentally aware parents think long and hard before saying yes to cloth or disposable diapers. They want to make the right decision for their baby, lifestyle, and earth.   For those who have never been satisfied with their diaper situation or who are just learning about their choices, there is something new to consider — a diaper composting service.   Composting Diapers by Mail   DYPER has launched the first national diaper composting service. You read that right — there is a service that takes your dirty disposable diapers off your hands and composts them for the greater good.   DYPER, a subscription-based bamboo diaper company, has partnered with TerraCycle, a waste management company, to offer REDYPER. DYPER customers can opt-in to the REDYPER service, receive a specially engineered waste-grade box, label, and materials, and send their soiled diapers back to TerraCycle for composting.   Can you really send poopy diapers through the mail? Do you even want to think about packing them up and putting them in a box? DYPER is counting on eco-conscious parents to do just that.   “We’re committed to making diapering effortless for parents, gentle for babies, and kind to the planet,” says Sergio Radovcic, the CEO of DYPER. “It wasn’t easy to develop the most fully compostable diaper ever created. But, we are thrilled that our partnership with TerraCycle will make it easy for families to keep their used diapers out of landfills.”   The Logistics of REDYPER   Your baby knows what to do in those carefully procured bamboo diapers. Parents want to responsibly dispose of a necessary evil. The logistics:  

• Enroll in a DYPER monthly subscription.
• Opt-in to the REDYPER program.
• Receive bags and a specially designed box engineered to the strictest United Nations HazMat shipping standards.
• Pack your box with soiled diapers.
• When the box is full, download a prepaid shipping label and mail the diapers.

  Composting DYPER diapers at home has always been possible. The TerraCycle partnership now saves families the time and effort of do-it-yourself composting and puts the burden on the REDYPER service, trusting that they are still doing their part for the environment without adding to the 20 billion diapers added to U.S. landfills every year. The waste composted through the program will be used in specialized applications, such as for vegetation in highway medians.   All the Questions   Eco-friendliness in the baby market isn’t always easy to come by, especially when you’re talking diapers. When a viable solution to disposable diapers in landfills hits the market, it’s worth looking into. But a big question is: What’s the carbon footprint of all that shipping?   The new diapers are shipped to the customer. Customers ship dirty diapers back in a separate and carefully manufactured box for composting. That’s a lot of back and forth — are the environmental benefits of composting the diapers negated by the CO2 impact of shipping?   For each shipment of diapers you receive, DYPERS purchases carbon offsets to help reforestation efforts. Subscribers receive an electronic certificate showing the amount of carbon offsets purchased on their behalf each time a shipment is sent.   Maybe for some parents, the environmental impact of their mailing habits is small compared to the huge impact just one baby’s three or so years’ worth of diapers can make in a landfill.   And possibly the carbon offsets that DYPERS purchases for each customer delivery help reduce concerns over all that shipping. But regardless of the environmental implications, it just might take a little convincing to get past the idea of a box full of poopy diapers — where do you store that in your house while your baby is working hard to fill it up?

Bamboo diapers are absorbent and tend to last much longer than conventional diapers. Every month, Dyper sends between 124 and 180 bamboo diapers (4-6/day), depending on your baby’s size. If you need more, you can request extra deliveries. Prices start at $68.   Upon sign-up, subscribers can choose if they want to receive diapers only, briefs only, or cloth + disposables. The delivery frequency can be as short as every 2 weeks or as long as every 12 weeks. Meanwhile, sizes range from Newborn to Extra Large. Extras are also available, including wipes and Redyper™ (an added service that sends your bundles in specialized shipping boxes, biodegradable bags, and shipping labels, and allows you to return your used diapers or briefs to TerraCycle and Dyper for centralized composting).   We were sent a pack of diapers and wipes for review, but the regular subscription in their recommended 4-week delivery frequency will include:  

• Newborn (10 lbs & Under): 260 diapers/shipment
• Small (6-16 lbs): 220 diapers/shipment
• Medium (13-22 lbs): 180 diapers/shipment
• Large (20-31 lbs): 140 diapers/shipment
• XLarge (28+ lbs): 100 diapers/shipment

  They also currently offer a Sample Pack, which includes 3 diapers in your chosen size. Just pay for shipping! It’s a great way to experience the diapers and see if they fit your baby’s needs without committing to the full subscription. If you decide to proceed, they will credit your sample cost to your regular subscription!   DEAL: Get a FREE Sample pack (includes 3-5 diapers, depending on size)! USE THIS LINK to get the deal. Just $4 shipping!     The package came in their own pouch.     They also included a promotional card for Babysoy.   There is also information about Azlon from Soy Fiber and a 15% off code at the back of the card!     Everything in the pack!     Dyper Baby Wipes. These soft wipes are eco-friendly!     Made with only 5 ingredients, these wipes are safe and gentle for baby’s skin! They don’t contain alcohol and harsh chemicals. They’re also cruelty-free.     I love that the packaging came with a resealable lid. It’s easier to use because pulling the wipes out is very convenient and there are fewer chances of drying them out before finishing the whole pack!     The wipe itself is great! It’s not too thick but it’s also not flimsy. The amount of wetness is just right unlike others that feel like they’re almost dry or some that are just soaking wet, this one has the right level of moisture to it!     Dyper Baby Diapers. These are thoughtfully made diapers free from harmful chemicals! We chose the XL size and there are 20 pieces of the diapers in this pack.   Gentle on baby’s skin and safe for the environment at the same time, these diapers are really awesome!     This is also soft to the touch but durable and very absorbent.     They’re also bio-degradable so you get the awesome benefits for your baby while saving Mother Earth!   Truly a game-changer! Dyper definitely made me reconsider my choices when it comes to my baby’s needs. With this brand, not only do I get assurance that my baby gets the best quality products that are gentle on their skin, but we also get to do our share in helping the environment! They have such a great vision and I’m all for it!   What do you think of Dyper?