And it looks like the lawyers won.

The class-action lawsuit by 59 plaintiffs was launched to confront Procter & Gamble with evidence that the company's Dry Max diapers were causing unusually severe rashes. The new formulation, which reduced absorbent paper and redistributed the liquid-absorbing plastic in a design the company touted as better for the environment and less bulky, led to a Facebook group with thousands of members sharing photographs of severe rashes and blistering and led to an extensive ZRecs investigation, wall-to-wall mainstream media coverage, an inquiry by the Consumer Products Safety Commission, and a major change of course in marketing by Procter & Gamble.

Pampers will pay $2.7 million in lawyers' fees, and has committed to spending $400,000 on "training programs in pediatric skin health" while admitting no wrongdoing. They are also paying plaintiffs $1,000 each to cover their expenses.

Marketing under the cover of science is nothing new in the baby products industry. It's how Nestle and other infant formula companies market formula under questionable claims around the world, and it's how P&G is frightening parents in China to begin favoring diapers over their cultures' time-tested methods of potty training, and encouraging parents in India to switch from cloth to disposables:

There’s even bigger potential in India, where the birth rate is almost double that of China but the diaper market remains tiny at about $43.4 million. (Pampers is the top-selling brand there, too.) So now, P&G plans to take the sleep argument throughout rural and poor areas in India and elsewhere. The company also makes its case by positioning itself as a baby-care educator. Pampers sponsors healthcare-outreach programs such as a rural immunization program in China and mobile medical-care vans in Pakistan and Morocco. In India, there’s a door-to-door program that offers baby-care tips and diaper samples for moms. [Source]

This is an unfortunate outcome. P&G's educational programs have been and will remain committed to the idea that diaper rash is naturally occurring and has no relationship to the practices or materials used in modern diapering. In other words, they've committed to earmarking $400,000 of their marketing budget to sponsored programs that promote their financial interests under the cover of scientific objectivity.

If you declared yourself as a class member in this lawsuit, you actually have two options if you do not like this arrangement. You can object to the settlement in writing, and have the court "consider your views." If you live in the Cincinnati area, or are willing to travel to make your voice heard, you can ask the Court to let you speak at the approval hearing. Here are the details from the settlement notice [PDF], including deadlines for each option.

If you are a Class Member, you can object to the settlement and give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views. To object, you must send a letter saying that you object to the settlement in In Re Dry Max Pampers Litigation, Case No. 1:10-cv-00301. Be sure to include your name, address, telephone number, signature and the reasons why you object to the settlement. You must send your objection by first class mail to the Dry Max Pampers Notice Administrator, the Court, and to one of the attorneys for the Settlement Class ("Class Counsel") and one of the attorneys for Procter & Gamble. A list of the attorneys is provided on the Full Notice, available at www.diaperclassactionsettlement.com. Your objection must be postmarked no later than August 29, 2011, or your objection will not be valid and will not be considered by the Court.

You may ask the Court to speak at the hearing on the approval of the settlement. To do so, you must send a letter saying that it is your "Notice of Intention to Appear" in In Re Dry Max Pampers Litigation, Case No. 1:10-cv-00301. Include your name, address, telephone number and signature. Your Notice of Intention to Appear must be postmarked no later than September 21, 2011, and also must be sent to the Clerk of Court, Class Counsel and Procter & Gamble's Counsel at their addresses in the Full Notice. You cannot speak at the hearing if your Notice of Intention to Appear is late.