Are the newer phthalate replacements used in baby products actually safer than DEHP?

What's actually in it

DEHP (di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) is banned from children's products in the US and EU because of its effects on hormonal development. Manufacturers replaced it with DINCH (diisononyl cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate) and DOTP (di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate), which are now in soft plastic toys, baby teethers, food packaging, and medical devices for children.

These replacement plasticizers were approved based on limited data. They don't have the decades of toxicology research that legacy phthalates accumulated.

What the research says

A 2026 regulatory review of phthalates and two common alternatives found that the regulatory framework for DINCH and DOTP is less developed than for the legacy phthalates they replaced. The review noted gaps in long-term developmental toxicity data and called for more research before these chemicals can be considered fully safe for children's products.

This is the same pattern seen with BPA and its replacements. A chemical gets banned, the replacement goes through less rigorous testing, and years later we find it has similar problems. DINCH has already been found to have some hormonal activity in newer studies.

Hard plastic toys made from polyethylene or polypropylene, and natural rubber teethers, contain no phthalates at all.