Having dissected more than a hundred disposable diapers, I learned the intricate details that go into producing quality diapers.
Well, if there is one thing that babies use for the longest time, it has to be a diaper. From the moment they are born up until they are three to four years old, they can run and jump, the child is wearing a diaper day and night. Hence, many mothers today have sophisticated and firmly established expectations for diapers.
In my role as a content planner within the diaper industry, I’ve worked with almost 30 brands and their corresponding diaper series, leading to the development of several articles. From the feedback section of these articles, I’ve noticed a recurring theme where mothers voice their frustration. It was the gap between criticism and reality that surprised me. Despite all the backlash, these criticized products happened to be the basic, best-sellers from well-known brands.
In my organization, I took the time to share the dilemma with the development manager. During the conversation, which had gotten a bit heated, he banged the table and noted, “Why don’t we develop a diaper ourselves? Let’s do our absolute best and give moms nothing to complain about!” Thus, we created RUBBER DUCK Soft Fluffy Pull-Up Pants.
It took our development manager six months to create this product. During this time, he completely transformed the product’s design, visiting several factories around the country and making numerous revisions to what he dubbed, “a diaper expert” through practice. To document this “expert” journey, we visited the factory while taking photos.
After numerous on-site visits, countless conversations with factory engineers, as well as manually disassembling over a hundred diapers on the shop floor, I’ve finally come to uncover the “secrets” to excellent diapers as well as the numerous technical difficulties concealed in a small diaper. Let me explain the trials and intricate steps in producing a diaper of exemplary quality.
The entire production process of a diaper
Vision is the best way of understanding, don’t you think?
Checkpoint of materials
Determines comfort and dryness
The choice of materials is the number one secret to an excellent diaper. Do not judge a diaper by its thin appearance. It is made of five layers. Each layer has to be soft for a diaper to be comfortable to wear. Also, the ability to quickly absorb urine during a baby’s “floodgates opening” determines whether the diaper will be deemed effective.
The attention to detail from our product manager while developing RUBBER DUCK Soft Fluffy Pull-Up Pants proves that the best choice was made from the very first layer to the last!
3D pearl topsheet: friction reduction, quick absorption
The topsheet layer friction against the baby’s butt and absorption performance will dictate the wearing experience for the baby. The topsheet has a very high requirement for its material. Minimum soft feel and non-irritation is a must, and on top of that, it has to rapidly channel urine to reduce the time annoying excretions of waste and a baby’s skin contact.
To minimize the interface friction for the skin and the topsheet of the Soft Fluffy Pull-Up Pants, large grain embossed structure is used. When looking closely, the surface is as if arranged by miniature 3D pearls which, when touched, feel very smooth, and soft gentle to the skin. These raised “pearl” shapes provide another important feature: they form “channels” that guide urine, distributing liquid evenly into every small recess and quickly channeling it to the absorbent layer.
Words can’t prove everything, so let’s go straight to the lab tests for this diaper. The slip-seepage test demonstrates how quickly and how much a product can absorb. When the tester simulates urine absorption, the liquid is soaked up instantly by the topsheet, with no liquid escaping into the receptacle positioned beneath it. Each region with liquid, when observed closely, is soaked up.
5th generation core: low rewetting, fast absorption
The absorbent core remains the most critical functional layer in a diaper. It must absorb and retain the urine. Thus, the functional manager’s criteria for it are absorption speed, capacity, and rewetting resistance. After thorough evaluations of all the absorbent cores available, our Soft Fluffy Pull-Up Pants selected a 5th generation absorbent core.
Two main absorbent structures, a fluffy absorbent layer and an absorbent cotton core, are present. Their dual-layer structure reinforces core strength, making it less susceptible to breakage and delamination. Notably, the surface fluffy layer incorporates polymers designed for rapid and high-efficiency absorption, which can be stacked in multilayers to enhance capacity significantly. I was not aware that there are specific devices for measuring diaper absorption until I walked into a lab—incredibly surprising!
The high-gram hot-air backsheet: soft, delicate, breathable
The backsheet material is equally as important for the overall hand feel of the diaper as it needs to provide comfort of softness, prevent leaks, as well as be breathable and moisture-wicking. Bearing this in mind, the product manager selected high-gram hot-air material for the backsheet. It’s a nonwoven fabric with a fine micro-perforation structure that exploits the differences in the thermodynamic properties of water droplets and vapor to trap droplets—therefore waterproof—while remaining breathable.
The Soft Fluffy Pull-Up Pants touch with a delightful softness, a combination of tenderness and plushness—so soft that you’ll be compelled to press them to your cheek. The backsheet’s softness is not only tactile, but visually delicate and soft.
Details checkpoint: affects comfort
As a companion that is with babies almost all day, the existence of a diaper must be designed and thought through, especially in terms of wearing comfort. The second secret that shapes a diaper’s comfort for extended wear is how a thoughtful approach to design enhances the wearing experience.
Fluffy cloud soft waistband: a gentle yet snug embrace
Some babies, but not all, might be marked red-blushed on their tummy post-diastasis—outlines of a waistband that’s too tight. To resolve this, we incorporate a fluffy cloud-soft waistband on our diapers. The inner layer rests next to the baby’s skin to keep the diaper in place and provide a snug fit. The puffy outer layer contains a hollow bubble layer that provides stronger stretch.
Supportive, yet gentle—only a waistband like this can truly be called a gentle hug for a baby’s tummy. With each stretch, tiny bubbles expand to a good size; the extensibility of this material is remarkable.
Double leak-guard design: move freely, stay protected
For children who have just passed a year, big movements kick in; crawling and walking—and of course, their chubby legs love to kick. This challenges the side leak prevention feature of the diaper. How well a diaper fits determines if there is a leak at the sides. To address this issue in our pull-ups, softer, nonwoven water-resistant materials are added to the leg openings to create a double leak-guard.
While the tester simulates pouring “urine” at the side cuffs, you can clearly see not a single drop seeps past the protective leak-guard layer. Diaper swelling is the result of every single drop of liquid being meticulously sealed inside the diaper. With such solid testing for side-leaks, even the most active, leg-kicking babies are at reduced risk of diaper leaks.
Most direct leakage testing: Quality Inspection Checkpoint
On our factory visit, we witnessed the complete quality control procedures. After observing, we could not help but feel proud—our “dear daughter” truly excels in quality!
Using a copper sulfate solution — testing for precipitated crystals on the diaper’s surface. Clear and clean surfaces—pass.
Using a copper sulfate solution — testing for precipitated crystals on the diaper’s surface. Clear and clean surfaces—pass.
Under the professional “demon-revealing mirror,” testing against dust standards and achieving a high score.
Tear resistance — it required the three of us to tear over a hundred diapers on the factory floor. Our hands nearly went numb!
Testing span of elastic recovery post thermal expansion.
Testing of diaper pH — weakly acidic.
There are numerous other tests. From observing the entire testing process, I can state: our Soft Fluffy Pull-Up Pants undergo every test—expected or unexpected.
Safety & certifications
After factory lab tests, we send samples to a national authority to certify safety. Test results proved absence of fluorescent agents, formaldehyde, or decomposable carcinogenic aromatic amine dyes. The coliforms and Staphylococcus aureus that mothers worry about were also not found.
This is why we are truly confident bringing RUBBER DUCK Soft Fluffy Pull-Up Pants to the public after such thorough testing. Our product manager is a new father himself, and he keeps asking: “Would I want to use this product for my own child?” Strict product quality requirements stem from wanting to ensure safe, trusted, and simple-to-use product features for babies around the globe.
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Invitation to try
Our proprietary soft absorbent pull-up pants are soft and absorb fast. That’s why we invite all mothers to experience RUBBER DUCK Soft Fluffy Pull-Up Pants—our most caring invite goes out, for all mothers.
Brand/Product: RUBBER DUCK Soft Fluffy Pull-Up Baby Diapers
Testing organization:Foshan Quality Testing Center
Report number: FSZJ20240830
