Why do we say “diaper” in the US and Canada and “nappy” in the United Kingdom?

The Middle English word, “diaper” originally referred to a type of cloth rather than its use.  "Diaper" was the term for a pattern of small repeated geometric shapes, and later came to describe a white cotton or linen fabric with this pattern.

The first cloth diapers consisted of a special type of soft tissue sheet, cut into geometric shapes. This type of pattern was called diapering and eventually gave its name to the cloth used to make diapers and then to the diaper itself, traced back to 1590's England.

This usage stuck in the United States and Canada, but in Britain the word "nappy" took its place. Most sources believe nappy is a diminutive form of the word “napkin” or of the French word “nappe” which means tablecloth.

Diapering, or clothing children not yet toilet trained is as old as human history. In some countries with warmer climates, babies were kept naked and mothers tried to anticipate their bowel movements so as to avoid mess near their living areas.

In the 19th century, the modern diaper began to take shape and children in Europe and North America were being diapered using cotton material, held in place with a safety pin. Cloth diapers were first mass produced in 1887 by Maria Allen in the United States.

In the 20th century, the disposable diaper gradually evolved through the inventions of several different people. In 1942, a Swedish paper company known as Pauliström created the first disposable diaper using sheets of tissue placed inside rubber pants. Four years later, an American housewife in Westport, Connecticut, Marion Donovan, developed a waterproof diaper cover known as the "Boater" using a sheet of plastic from a shower curtain; she was granted four patents for her invention, including the use of plastic snaps as opposed to safety pins.

In 1947, a man named George M. Schroder invented the first diaper with disposable nonwoven fabric. 

Disposable diapers were introduced to the US in 1949 by Johnson & Johnson.

During the 1950s, companies such as Kendall, Parke-Davis, Playtex, and Molnlycke entered the disposable diaper market. In 1956, Procter & Gamble began researching disposable diapers and in 1959 invented what would be trademarked "Pampers".  Pampers were successfully launched in 1961.

Since then, there have been many changes and improvements. 

Today 95% of parents choose disposable "diapers" or "nappies" for their children - mainly due to convenience.  And, whether you call them "diapers" or "nappies", we, at Knowaste, can recycle them into useful products such as green energy and plastic for injection moulding systems.