China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Health Commission, and National Disease Control and Prevention Administration announced on June 22 the establishment of a joint investigation team to verify issues concerning formamide in infant diapers. The results will be handled in accordance with laws and regulations and released promptly. Earlier, three brands involved—Babycare, HUGGIES (好奇), and Bebaby (碧芭宝贝)—subsequently released third-party test reports, all claiming no formamide was detected. Babycare also issued a statement calling for the relevant sampling agency to publish official test results as soon as possible and urged authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation into „the causes of elevated formamide levels in children’s blood samples."
According to extensive interviews by Yicai (China Business Network), the controversy has already had a clear impact on the market sales of the brands involved: some parents chose to return products and switch brands; some consumers traveled across provinces to Pangdonglai in Henan specifically to buy diapers; others switched to mixing multiple brands to spread risk. Pangdonglai responded that it had sent all diaper brands sold in its stores for third-party random testing, and no formamide was detected so far. Data from Miaoshangying shows that in 2025, HUGGIES’ annual sales growth rate was approximately 25%, and Babycare’s growth rate exceeded 100%, but their momentum diverged in the first five months entering 2026. Industry experts suggest launching traceability investigations starting from raw material suppliers such as non-woven fabrics and adhesives, and pointed out that current consumer product standards for the control of such compounds still need to be reviewed.