Tushies, the end of the only gel-free diaper

Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 by bbb-admin

We have received many questions about what is happening with Tushies/Tendercare Diaper company over the last couple of weeks. In addition to the questions, we have also received a lot of orders for Tushies, far more than usual. We had no idea anything was happening until we went to reorder from our supplier and they told us that Tushies was no longer being manufactured.

Perplexed by this, I went to the Tushies website and didn’t find any information. I googled about the web trying to find something out and all I could come up with was that Tushies/Tendercre had been bought out last January by Earth’s Best (who turns out is owned by Hain Celestial, FYI). This was starting to make sense to me because in my googling I found a new alternative disposable diaper called, “Earth’s Best Tendercare“.

After all this, I called the Tushies/Tendercare customer service number and was told by the rep that they basically found out they were losing their jobs because of all the phone calls coming from Canadian parents trying to find out how to get Tushies since the stores were no longer carrying them. They were not told that Tushies was being discontinued or anything that was happening for that matter. Their office will be closed as of tomorrow. I was quite distressed by the phone call. Those poor people.

In a strange twist of events, an Earth’s Best rep was at the Baby Purity conference we attended on the weekend handing out their new diapers. Needless to say, the rep had limited knowledge of the product, whose samples were wrapped in plastic btw, and told us that indeed they had purchased Tushies/Tendercare and that Tushies was no longer being manufactured. She also told us that the new and improved Tendercare diapers are no longer being manufactured in the US of A, but now in Mexico instead. She also told us that the diapers were gel free which we can assure you they are not as we cut one open and low and behold, SAP gel crystals.

Needless to say Earth’s Best is now in my bad books. The way they have treated the former long-time staff at Tushies/Tendercare, getting rid of the only gel-free disposable diaper on the market, reps that don’t know the product, and the lack of information available to desperate parents that have been using Tushies all along is deplorable.

While we are always considering new product so we can offer our customers the best selection in natural baby products, I am not so sure you will see us offering Earth’s Best Tendercare. We received some to try and thus far it is not holding up to the others we offer. We also do not feel comfortable carrying a product that the sales rep doesn’t know much about. The packaging says that the absorbent fibres are derived from corn and wheat and makes no mention of the gel. We will try and do some more research but the fact that it is a plastic-based diaper in plastic packaging does not make it a hopeful candidate for our site. Furthermore, reviews I have read on amazon have stated that the gel leaks out all over the baby’s bum. If any of you have tried these diapers we would love your feedback.

So in closing, farewell to Tushies. Another great American family company bought out by a giant whose improvements take us that much further from why we supported it to start with.

If you are a Tushies follower and are trying to find a gel-free alternative other than cloth, I will recommend Nature Babycare diapers. These diapers do have gel but it is not a polymer gel, it is a cellulose-based gel which makes it more natural. I am sorry that we have not found a gel-free alternative for you but we will keep hunting.

RIP Tushies.