As of December 11, 2025, every diaper sold in New York must list its intentionally added ingredients on the packaging — fragrances, dyes, adhesives, bleaching agents, in order of predominance — or face fines of up to $1,000 per non-compliant package. It's the first law of its kind in the United States.
The source
New York Senate Bill S.2279-C, the Diaper Disclosure Act, was signed by Governor Hochul on December 11, 2024, and took effect exactly one year later. A companion movement is spreading: California Assembly Bill 1901 passed the state Assembly 68–1 in May 2026 and is now in the Senate, where it would require manufacturers to disclose all intentionally added ingredients online by January 1, 2028. Consumer Reports and the Environmental Working Group both endorsed the California bill.
What it actually means
The law requires disclosure of intentionally added ingredients. That's a meaningful floor — for the first time, a parent shopping in New York can see whether their brand uses synthetic fragrance before putting a diaper on their baby. Synthetic fragrances are a common allergen and a known delivery vehicle for phthalates, compounds linked to hormone disruption; until now, they appeared nowhere on diaper packaging.
Two gaps matter. First, the law covers intentional additions only. PFAS, for instance, can migrate into diaper materials from manufacturing equipment, packaging contact, or raw material processing without being intentionally added. Process contaminants don't appear on the new label. Second, "fragrance" remains a single line item. Brands must disclose that fragrance is present, but not what it contains — and a single fragrance compound can legally represent dozens of undisclosed chemicals.
In the home
Diapers are worn against infant skin for twenty or more hours a day — one of the highest continuous-contact products in any household. The new label gives parents a concrete starting point: the presence or absence of added fragrance is now verifiable in New York, which also serves as a useful proxy for evaluating brands nationwide.
The companies that have gone further voluntarily are the useful benchmarks. HealthyBaby became the first diaper brand to earn EWG Verified status in June 2025, including third-party testing that found non-detectable PFAS levels. Coterie and Andy Pandy publish full ingredient lists voluntarily. Those are the standards against which to read what a label discloses — and what it leaves out.
What to do
In New York, read the label. The absence of "fragrance" is the most actionable signal currently available. Nationally, the product directory is curated against the same ingredient criteria this law was written to address. California residents: AB 1901 is in the Senate now; contacting your state senator is the most direct action available before 2028.
Cover image: William Fortunato via Pexels (Pexels License) — source.
