SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — State Rep. Justin Cochran, D-Des Plaines, passed a bill Tuesday requiring transparency from diaper-makers as to the materials in their products.
“A kid’s diaper is the one thing they wear the most, and it’s the only thing they wear that doesn’t have a label on it that says what it’s made of,” Cochran said. “Kids are also some of the most vulnerable to things like allergens, chemicals and other potentially irritating materials. That’s why parents need to know what their kids’ diapers are made from.”
Cochran’s House Bill 4702 would require, beginning one year from its effective date, that all diapers sold in Illinois carry a plain and conspicuous label listing all ingredients in order of highest to lowest content—in addition to, not instead of, any other labeling requirements.
Anyone who violates this provision would be subject to a civil penalty of 1% of their total annual in-state sales of diapers or $1,000, whichever is less, per package or box that is non-compliant. For example, someone who sold $50,000 worth of diapers, of which 25 boxes had no label, would be fined $500 per noncompliant box, or $12,500. A person who sold $1.5 million worth of diapers, 100 boxes of which were noncompliant, would be fined $1,000 per box—the maximum per box—for a total fine of $100,000.
This penalty system was agreed to by the diaper industry during negotiations, and Cochran defended the amounts.
“At the end of the day, this is not a burdensome requirement. List the materials that are in your diapers on the box they come in,” Cochran said. “That’s not hard. In fact, it’s easy, and basic requirements like this are routine in any number of industries, and have been for years. I don’t think these penalties are extreme at all, because the degree to which you’d have to not have your ducks in a row to ever get hit with one of them is enormous. Besides, in my book, families come first, and if you’re not onboard with that, I’m more than comfortable saying that you don’t get to put your product on people’s kids.”