Modern Homemakers

How Eco Boom Answered Mom Concerns with their Biodegradable Diapers

by Alexa Villano
December 10, 2021

Valerie Pineda talks to Modern Parenting about Eco Boom’s beginnings and how it’s possible to have biodegradable diapers that won’t harm the environment.

Disposable diapers have been a big help for first-time parents. But many brands still use plastic and chemicals, which can harm a baby’s skin. It also contributes to the amount of trash that takes years to decompose. In fact, studies show that it takes 500 years for a single diaper to decompose in a landfill. There have been several eco-friendly and biodegradable diapers in the market but are expensive.

Valerie Pineda and her husband Jay saw an opportunity. They decided to launch a business to help first-time parents and help the environment. Thus, the beginning of Eco Boom Diapers and Wipes.

Advocating for the Environment with Biodegradable Diapers and Wipes

Speaking with Modern Parenting via email, Valerie said that the idea for Eco Boom started back in 2019 when she saw the growing need for sustainable products.

“I have become an active advocate of The Plastic Solution for Baguio City, encouraged my hometown friends to practice eco bricking, and eventually switch to more sustainable products such as thrift clothes, reusable tumblers, menstrual cups, shampoo bars, and reusable utensils,” she said.

“We thought that it would be great to bring biodegradable diapers and wipes to our country. Since we know that one of the biggest contributors of trash is baby diapers, which take 500 years to decompose. Most of the diapers accumulated since we were born are probably still sitting in our landfills as of this moment. Cloth diapers are prevalent and so many moms have switched. However, not a lot of moms can sustain using 100% cloth diapers due to their busy schedules. So we thought having biodegradable diapers in handy is such a big help to other moms.”

Biodegradable Diapers That Moms Love

While some people are skeptical, Valerie said she was surprised by the initial feedback from people who bought them. According to her, a lot of parents have been looking for alternatives.

“The ones that were currently available in the Philippines were very expensive. They were sold in only very few stores that weren’t accessible for everyone. We initially started selling on Instagram and slowly picked up as more and more moms have been sharing our page with their fellow moms,” she said.

Valerie said that she and the team have tested the products to make sure that they decompose properly.

Feedback, she said, has been good among first-time users.

“It’s nice how our mom clients incessantly share and rave about their and their baby’s experience after trying out our diapers,” Valerie shared. “Sales started picking up and more and more parents were making the switch. We’ve read amazing reviews about our diapers from our clients and how incomparable they are with regular commercial diapers. That’s when we knew our products were really good.”

The Green Wave and New Product

With the feedback the brand has gotten, Valerie said it was a testament that a lot of parents are now aware of the products they use on their babies.

“Through other parents’ reviews and their first-hand experience with our brand, we have inspired other parents to try our products and switch to an eco-friendly brand backed up with certifications such as FSC, SGS, OEKO TEX, CE, ISO, and OK-Biobased certifications,” she said.

“Aside from that, our diapers last longer than regular diapers. So in return, it saves parents more money with lesser diaper changes.”

Recently, the brand introduced its first plant-based diaper, which she said is more economical.

“We used 100% plant-based premium fiber made from selected wooden cores from natural plantations which are also biodegradable. It’s simply a more economical and affordable biodegradable material than bamboo.”

“After launching the plant-based line, more parents have started using it and the feedback was great! Others still prefer the bamboo line because of its unparalleled softness.”

What’s Next for Eco Boom

Eco Boom may have started before the pandemic, but it does not mean they weren’t affected. For them, it was about trusting the process.

“Let things unfold the way it is coupled with hard work, patience, and consistency. The pandemic actually helped us focus more on our business. Because prior to the lockdown, I was a full-time events photographer for four years while my husband worked for their family business full time for seven years. Being on a lockdown gave us a chance to strategize more, work on marketing our brand in the Philippines, and give our 100% focus to growing the brand,” Valerie shared.

She also happily announced that they are set to come out with more “disposable biodegradable products” very soon.

As Eco Boom continues to get a following, Valerie said that by shopping the brand, parents are already helping the environment and the local industry.

“From the very beginning, our goal was to provide Filipino parents an eco-friendly alternative to regular disposable diapers one baby bum at a time. To a lot of our clients, having Eco Boom handy is one of their most life-changing switches from using regular diapers. Because not only are they contributing to a cleaner environment, the unparalleled comfort and rash-free goodness of our diapers to their babies are also the biggest reasons why they switched! It’s like they’re hitting two birds with one stone,” she said.

“A lot of parents have been purchasing our diapers as gifts this holiday season to inspire other parents to follow suit. And to us, that’s a really wonderful and thoughtful gesture.”