MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Families will soon be seeing a higher bill at the check-out line for diapers.
Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark, the makers of well-known diaper brands, announced they are hiking the prices on diapers beginning in June and September.
According to NielsenIQ, diaper prices have gone up nearly 9% in the last year.
Kimberly-Clark which makes Huggies and Pull-Ups announced they'll raise their prices mid-to-high single digit percentages to match costs beginning in June. Procter & Gamble, makers of Pampers, Luvs and All Good diapers, will raise theirs the same but in September.
“My biggest fear was that the individuals who have to go to the store to purchase them that they will no longer be able to purchase them or afford them," Shari Douglas said when she heard the news.
Douglas is the director of the Bare Needs Diaper Bank, located inside the Mid-South Food Bank.
Douglas said families can spend upwards of $100 a month on diapers.
She said the hike in prices is concerning considering across the country one in three families already struggle to pay for groceries.
In 2020, they felt that need, distributing nearly one million diapers around the Mid-South.
"Diapers are one of the most expensive items you can buy," she said. "A family that is living off minimum wage, that takes a significant portion of their earnings away."
Ahead of the price hike, Douglas said she has already made a large purchase of diapers with another order planned, to stock up the diaper bank.
"We will be making another purchase just to make sure we have those items on hand in the event that we get more clients based off of this price hike," she said.
Diapers, although essential, are not covered by federal food assistance programs like WIC and SNAP.
