DISPOSABLES: AN ABSORBING HISTORY
1935
Johnson & Johnson introduces Chux, one of the first mass-market disposable diapers. The same year, it adds another key product to its lineup, Johnson’s Baby Oil.
1949
Marion Donovan, a mother and inventor, files a patent for the Boater, a pleated diaper cover of breathable cloth—her prototype was made out of her shower curtain, later versions used nylon—folded around a removable disposable or cloth liner. The Boater seals with baby-friendly snaps instead of scary safety pins. Donovan contracts with Saks Fifth Avenue, where the Boater is so popular, it sells out. In 1951, when her patent comes through, Donovan sells it to Keko Corp. for $1 million.
1956
After babysitting his grandson, Vic Mills, top left, a researcher at Procter & Gamble Co., deems cloth diapers to be a pain in the behind—for baby because of diaper rash, and for parents because of constant leaking and laundering. He launches a project at P&G to develop an affordable disposable. At the time disposables make up less than 1% of the billions of diaper changes per year.
1961
Robert C. Duncan, above center, and Norma Lueders Baker, above right, scientists on Mills’ P&G team, file a patent for a disposable diaper later named Pampers. It is made of absorbent wadding with a rayon inner layer and polyethylene outer layer and fastens with pins. The company makes 37,000, mostly by hand, for test-marketing in Peoria, Illinois.
1968
P&G rival KimberlyClark introduces Kimbies, with features that become industry standards, including a triangular shape and adhesive tape fasteners. But consumer complaints about leaking send K-C back to the diaper drawing board.
1976
Seeking to build a better diaper, P&G introduces Luvs as a premium brand. It has an hourglass shape and elasticized leg gathers— two innovations that are immediate hits with consumers. Luvs soon competes with Pampers, despite its higher price.
1978
Kimberly-Clark comes out with Huggies, with a Luvs-style hourglass design and improved tape fasteners. So begins a fierce diaper-market war between K-C and P&G, which continues today.
1981
Unable to keep up with perpetual innovations and price wars, Johnson & Johnson exits the disposable diaper business in the U.S.
2012
Pampers becomes P&G’s first $10 billion brand.
2018
Disposables make up about 1.4% of municipal solid waste or 4.1 million tons—down from the peak year, 2015, when diapers generated 4.17 million tons of waste.