Diapers are already a huge expense for families. It’s getting even worse

  • April 25, 2021
Diapers are already a huge expense for families. It’s getting even worse

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Disposable diaper prices rose 8.7% during the year ending April 10, according to the latest numbers from NielsenIQ, which tracks point of sale data from retailers. Diaper makers recently said they are planning additional price increases, which may further stretch low-income families’ budgets if stores choose to pass on the hikes.
Kimberly-Clark (KMB), the maker of Huggies and Pull-Ups, will increase prices on these products by mid-to-high single-digit percentages in June, while Procter & Gamble (PG)— which manufactures Pampers, Luvs and All Good diapers — will raise prices on such brands in the mid-to-high single digit percentage range in mid-September.

Diapers were already a major cost burden for families.

It costs around $80 a month to provide diapers for one child, and one in three American families struggled to afford diapers even before the pandemic, according to Joanne Goldblum, chief executive officer of the National Diaper Bank Network.

Demand for diaper banks has surged during the pandemic. The non-profit group, which has a nationwide network of over 200 diaper banks, reported an 86% increase on average in the number of diapers distributed to children and families during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic figures.
Federal food assistance programs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which provides aid to low-income women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or have young children, cannot be used to purchase diapers. Thirty-six states charge sales tax on diapers, according to the group. The tax can range from 2.5% in Virginia to 7% in Indiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

“It’s going to be harder. No doubt,” Goldblum said of low-income families’ ability to afford diapers. “Anytime there’s an increase in the cost of basic necessities, it impacts people living in poverty at a more considerable rate.”

Assuming the average monthly diaper bill is $80, diapers take up almost 8% of a full-time federal minimum wage salary of $7.25 an hour after taxes, according to Jennifer Randles, an associate professor of sociology at California State University, who studies diaper needs among families.

Randles said higher prices on diapers disproportionally impact women. “Higher prices [on diapers] hit women harder because they’re more likely to be solo parents, they tend to make lower wages, and they’re more likely to lose or cut back on work hours for childcare needs.”
There were 9.5 million single-parent…

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