Diapers Prices Rising

My youngest sister, the last of our large family clan to have children, is pregnant with her first baby and is due this summer. But I worry about her: Her preschool teacher's job offers no health benefits nor maternity leave, and every day, it costs more to fill up her car. And now, it seems diapers are headed in that direction, too!

After Kimberly-Clark released first quarter earnings Monday that were lower than the same quarter last year (despite sales growth), diaper analysts (yes, there is such a job) warned of higher prices to come.

In earnings report-speak: Positive financial "factors were more than offset by input cost inflation." As diaper analyst Andrew Urban told Public Radio's Marketplace, "The absorbency in a diaper is really due to super absorbent polymer, which is a petroleum-based derivative."