Kirkland Signature Supreme Review
Pros: Durable, comfy, price
Cons: Health, not very eco-friendly
Manufacturer: Kirkland
The Skinny
Compare to Similar Products
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Costco Company, a wholesale retail store, owns the Kirkland brand. This private label brand strives to bring quality products to consumers at a price saving value. The Kirkland Signature label is on about 20% of the products offered at Costco, and they strive to provide products that are equal to or better than the name brand options so they can better control the quality of products and help drive down the price on national brands at the same time. You can find the Kirkland label on a variety of items, from diapers to dog food and everything in between.
Performance Comparison
Absorption
This diaper earned a decent score for absorption. Its above average results were consistent across repeated tests indicating a level of attention to consistency in the manufacturing process we didn't see in all of the competition.
The Kirkland diaper has a small amount of moisture transfer to the filter paper, but the amount is minimal compared to the competition. Less transfer is better because it means the diaper is good at locking moisture away, which helps prevent leaking and keeps your baby's skin drier.
Dry skin means less potential for irritation or diaper rash as a result of chronic wetness. Our testers felt the diaper was better for daytime wetting as it struggled with significant overnight wetting, which results in some leaking.
Leakage
The Kirkland diaper has average performance when it comes to leakage.
In our run-off test, this diaper did particularly well, with only a small amount of mock urine dripping into the pan. This test result means that the diaper absorbs liquids quickly, which should result in a lower potential for leaks in the real world. However, in our online research, this diaper has a more significant percentage of complaints on Amazon concerning leaks than some of the competition. Leaking isn't a significant issue, but there is a greater occurrence than the higher scoring diapers. For the price, however, this diaper impresses with its combination of higher leakage and absorption scores than other similarly priced options.
Comfort
Kirkland earned one of the highest scores for this metric. This diaper managed to pull off something somewhat rare by being both comfortable and durable (see below).
This diaper has a soft backing and an inner liner that feels more like actual fabric than most of the diapers we tested. However, it shines when it comes to the elastic and motion points that have a smooth and skin-friendly feel. Even the closure tabs and cuffs feel less abrasive than most of the competition, giving this diaper a cozy fit and feel.
Health
Kirkland did not score well for health, in part because they don't provide a disclosure list of what is in the diaper or what they avoid using. It fell below average for the group.
Many of the store brand or discount diapers seem to be forgoing any consideration for known irritants. Still, we think being free of these common additives is a step in the right direction that all brands should be making for baby's health and skin. This diaper does not indicate if it is free of chlorine, something most diapers are moving towards to avoid the impact on the environment and the development of dioxins. For health, this diaper only mentions being perfume-free; it says nothing about lotion, dyes, latex, or chlorine, which is a disappointment.
The potential for one or more of these known irritants to be in the diaper could be the reason that one of our testers had an adverse skin reaction to the waistband of the Kirkland. Without more information, it would be difficult to say what caused the rash, but moisture is unlikely given the location.
Ecological
Like most store brand diapers, the Kirkland product doesn't offer much in the way of being environmentally friendly, scoring near the bottom of the group.
Unfortunately, Kirkland does not offer even a partial disclosure of the manufacturing process of these diapers. Given that most companies love to brag about their environmental benefits, we assume this means they've made no effort to improve the overall impact of this diaper on the Earth. Considering that no disposable diaper is great for the environment, we certainly prefer to see companies at least making an effort to improve their products with the Earth in mind. This diaper does not appear to be chlorine-free, nor is it made with renewable or sustainable resources or plant-based plastics. While you can recycle the box it comes in; it doesn't use recycled materials in its packaging. Some advances it could try would be using bamboo or corn-based resources, improving the potential for biodegradability, and incorporating recycled materials into its design or packaging. Some diapers have moved to compostable materials and bamboo covers and liners for a more Earth-friendly configuration.
Durability
With one of the highest scores for durability, the Kirkland diaper beat out many other options.
During testing, we did not find any issues or problems with faulty tabs or falling apart. There were no SAP leaks or tearing back fabric. Users online had similar results with 0 of 137 reviews we read discussing any problems with durability.
Being durable and comfortable is a rarity in the world of diapers and something to consider. Some of the other diapers we tested have repeated durability issues resulting in a certain percentage of diapers being unusable, which increases the overall cost of the diapers and the annoyance factor.
Manufacturer Video
— Juliet Spurrier, MD & Wendy Schmitz