Purchasing cloth diapers from Amazon can be an effective way to build your diaper stash and save the bank! However, there are so many diaper companies selling on Amazon that it’s hard to tell which ones safe and which ones are quality. Which one are the best cloth diapers on Amazon? It’s taken a while for me to figure out which companies I can trust but after extensive research, I think I can safely say which companies I’m placing my trust in.
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Are Amazon Cloth Diapers Safe?
Are Amazon Diapers safe is the golden question in the diapering community. The answer is not a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Many Amazon diapers are referred to as ‘China Cheapies’ as many of the companies produce in China and are able to lower their costs as a result.
The real answer is that like any company, regardless of its location, you have to do your own research.
Don’t you just wish there was a simple answer?
Amazon Cloth Diapers and China Cheapies
Disclaimer: not all the diapers I refer to in this article and on my blog are in the strictest sense ‘china cheapies’, however for my purposes, we are considering those diapers made in China, available on Amazon, and produced in packages of 4 or more, China Cheapies.
One of the main criticisms of China Cheapie diapers is the ethical concerns. Some of the cheapest brands are 1/4 the price of their United States-made counterparts. That is quite the discrepancy.
The main China Cheapies diaper out there is Alva. There I said it. Speaking from my own experience, about 6-8 months into cloth diapering every single one of the Alva brands lost its stitching. Every. Single. One.
Did it raise the concern of why?
The ethical concerns of these companies are sustainable because there is very little reliable information out there. Much of what I have read is only hearsay and not backed up by facts. However, there is enough information out there that I suspect that if we got a look into many of the China Cheapies manufacturing processes, we would be less than impressed.
Ethics and quality control are often tied together and the quality of many of these companies are easy to see. The material is thinner, the fabrics are cheaper. That is just a plain fact. You are not going to get the same quality in a $5 diaper as you will a $20 diaper.
Research Guidelines for Amazon Cloth Diapers
If you are on a budget but really want to cloth diapers, China Cheapies may be the only option for your family. It’s the honest reality.
Research, research, research. That is the best answer to looking into Amazon China Cheapie diapers. Here are some guidelines to consider.
- Does the company have a website?
- Do they have a positive social media presence?
- Does the company reply to your messages or attempts to connect?
Another good place to go is their trademark information. I have found a lot of interesting information just from browsing all their websites.
Manufacturing Processes
When researching cloth diaper companies, I asked them a lot of questions pertaining to their manufacturing processes. I noticed that many of them seemed surprised by my line of questions. The good companies had no problem providing information about their manufacturing process in China, and to be honest the bad companies avoided my question altogether. You don’t see those companies on this list.
Here’s the bottom line of why I ask about manufacturing processes: manufacturing is a direct indicator of the quality of product we as a consumer are getting.
When researching a company, don’t be afraid to ask about manufacturing practices and processes. You will learn a lot just in how they handle the question.
Best Cloth Diapers on Amazon
Mama Koala Cloth Diaper
I discovered Mama Koala at the beginning of my cloth diapering journey. Out of all my China Cheapies I bought as a naive new cloth diapering mama, these are the only ones that do not have even one tear or elastic problem.
That says something big!
Mama Koala continues to come up in my research as sustainable, excellent quality, ethical manufacturing practices in China, and affordable. The picture below is an actual screenshot from their Facebook page.
Mama Koala is our go-to diapers. They are pocket diapers and for a 6-pack run around $40. What that comes down to is about $6.67 a diaper.
As a bonus, they don’t use elastic in the pocket insert, which my husband loves because his hand can fit in it. They also have a wider bottom, which makes it ideal for nighttime extra inserts.
Contacting Mama Koala
The Facebook page has an extensive following and community, and they often engage with their audience and offer giveaways! It’s a great community to check out.
Mama Koala is highly active on Facebook and Instagram, but would they respond to an individual message? The email address that seems to work best was [email protected]. Astoundingly they responded to me a little over 12 hours later. I specifically wanted to know if they have a CPSIA certificate from the United States. They sent me not only the certificate but also the test report.
The openness, quick response, and available information made me an even more loyal supporter of these diapers.
I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, research is key to unraveling which diapers on Amazon are safe or unsafe!
Asenappy Cloth Diapers
Asenappy is a new company for me, but they have proved to be easy to research, which is one of the things I look for most in a company.
They sell diapers in two different styles, the pocket style, and the AIO style. On amazon, the AIO comes in 4-packs at $29.99, which is around $7.50 a diaper. They are AIO diapers which means that an insert is not required. However, they still have the pocket option, which I continue to use.
They also have a pocket style that comes with an insert. On Amazon, these sell at $25.99 for a pack of 6, which is about $4.66 per diaper. They also come with 12 inserts and claim these have 3 layers of microfiber.
Originally, I thought the fabric on these was bamboo/hemp. However, after receiving my diapers and looking at some reviews, they are microfleece. They did still manage to make the microfleece a darker color, and that reduces staining, but they are not as absorbent as a higher-quality fabric.
Their website is nicely organized, and they even have a promotion section that includes a code for free shipping on their website.
Contacting Asenappy
Although Asenappy has been easy to research, they have not been easy to contact. Their Facebook and Instagram pages have small followings and very little community involvement.
I took a lot of companies off my ‘good’ diaper list because of a lack of communication. Yet Asenappy has not made that cut yet. Transparency is important when researching diaper companies in China. If you scroll back in their social media pages you will find clear and clean pictures of their manufacturing center. Obviously, these pictures could be modified to make the best impression, but I appreciated the openness and therefore they haven’t lost my faith quite yet.
As of September 11th, 2019, I have yet to hear back from them via email regarding their manufacturing processes. I will update this page if information regarding this becomes available.
Trademark Information for Amazon Cloth Diapers
Because I was not hearing back from the company, I dug a little deeper into their trademark information and found that Asenappy is owned by Pujian Asen Industry & Trading Co., Ltd. Now this is not surprising as many companies are under larger trading Ltd’s. This specific company does about 90% of their product line as exports and has been working in the export field for about 8 years. That’s a fairly young company, especially considering they are making about 5 million annually. What I found particularly interesting was the companies overview which claims that they are trying to create more ‘exquisite’ diapers using better snaps, fabrics, sewing, and quality.
Those are certainly great things to strive for IF their manufacturing process is ethical.
Simple Being Diapers
Disclaimer: Simple Being Diapers are not technically a ‘china cheapie’. They sell directly to the consumer, so their price point is lower. Which may make them appear like a ‘china cheapie’ diaper to a novice researcher. However, for the sake of this article and series, I have lumped them under that general name.
I’m not going to lie; it took me FOREVER to thoroughly research Simple Life diapers. I almost gave up and didn’t put these diapers on the list, but then I found it! Their website, story, manufacturing practices, everything was right there. The reason their information is so hard to find is that their larger company goes by the name SimplyLife, yet their diapers are under the name Simple Being. You can find their entire website information here.
In speaking with a CEO of the company via email, I was informed that the reason it can be a bit of a challenge to find their company online is that they did not trademark the name early enough and another company from Singapore snatched it up Therefore Simple Being was born, which I think sounds lovely anyways!
They started in 2015 with a desire to ” to develop a more economically and environmentally sustainable diaper.” Their company grew to include more products and lines of service. They are a company based in California that utilizes Amazon to ship their products right off their website.
These diapers are quite impressive for an Amazon ‘cheapie’ and at $36.99 for a 6 pack they come in at $6.17 apiece. That is especially incredible with the double-wide gusset that helps reduce diaper leaks and rashes.
These are the first diapers that have not given my son a diaper rash along his thick thighs. The double gusset is truly brilliant!
Contacting Simply Life
Honestly, I felt like their website was so well laid out, with practical information and a detailed story about their beginnings that I didn’t have to reach out. Their facebook and Instagram pages are active, and my comments were replied to immediately.
I did still want to reach out to them via email. They responded in a timely manner and assured me they did have a CPSIA certificate but did not provide me with a copy as Mama Koala did. I was told that although they operate and design in California, their manufacturing in China is quality.
Update (9-18-19): A few days after this article was published, I received a detailed email from a gentleman named Alex who is the CEO of the company. Not only did he send pictures of their manufacturing practices in China but captioned them, so they were easy to understand.
The manufacturing process is important for consumers to understand because it will directly tell you the story of quality. Don’t be afraid to ask about it because in the process you will learn a lot about the company and may just get an email from the CEO!
The information he provided was practical and helpful concerning their practices and convictions as a company. I specifically enjoyed reading about how they listen to their customers and adapt their diapers accordingly. For example, the gray interior fabric that I LOVE was suggested by a mother who explained that staining is an issue. The company took her advice and incorporated that into their design.
Simple Being/Simply Life gave me detailed and full information about their line of products. THAT is what you as a consumer of cloth diapers are looking for in a company!
My Personal Conclusions regarding Amazon “China Cheapies”
There are a lot of companies that I investigated that were vastly disappointing. Most had very unclear practices and I was left with the only conclusion to abandon them as a safe company to buy from.
Yet there are some companies out there that prove to be clear and transparent with their manufacturing processes and ethical practices. Mama Koala and SimpleBeing were ‘no brainers’ for me. They proved time and time again that they were trustworthy and worth my business as a consumer. Asenappy I am not ready to throw out quite yet, but they certainly have not been as easy to communicate with.
There are many women out there that would just rather buy through United States companies and not even delve into the world of China Cheapies, and I can respect that. However, with a bit of ‘research elbow grease’ much can be concluded about these companies and a confidence in buying can proceed.