Snug Organics Blog

From Cloth Diapers to Cloth Wipes

Tuesday February 16, 2010

Most parents who have made the decision to live more sustainably have made the commitment to using cloth diapers.  Many also realize the safety precaution they are taking in avoiding the cancer-related chemicals that most disposable diapers contain.  Once you feel up to it, consider making the switch from disposable wipes to reusable cloth wipes.  It’s easier than it sounds and if you’re already doing cloth diaper laundry, these wipes will fit right in and won’t cost you a thing.  Here are few reasons to make the change:

Health Hazards

A common preservative ingredient used in wipes known as Bronopol has been given the highest hazard score possible on the website database Skin Deep.  Parabens, VOCs, chlorine, propylene glycol, phthalates, and petroleum among others are all possible ingredients you will find in conventional disposable wipes.  These chemicals irritate sensitive skin, cause skin allergies, asthma, endocrine disruption, kidney damage, liver problems, and tumors.  You get the picture.

Environmental Impact

Not only do disposable wipes create landfill waste, they are a threat because they introduce human waste into the ground. Five million tons of untreated human waste enter landfills yearly.  Throwing away human waste introduces bacteria and viruses into our land and groundwater that cause illnesses, such as polio and hepatitis.

For more in depth information on health hazards and environmental impact read on.

An Easy Solution

We received what seemed like a million of those little packs of washcloths at baby showers.  We also received one of those heaters for wipes, as if our little guy needed to be pampered even more.  We used it for a while and then it was thrown to the floor of the closet like everything else that seemed to be too high maintenance.  However, after doing hundreds of loads of cloth diaper laundry, I kept finding wipes that never made it to the garbage and thought about how it would be much easier to use cloth wipes that could be thrown in the diaper pail to be washed along with the cloth diapers.  Knowing it would also be much more environmentally friendly, we made the change. 

• Find a used wipe heater or an empty plastic wipe container
• Soak one washcloth to cover the bottom of the heater/container and add a few drops of essential oil
• Gather all your baby washcloths (organic is ideal, but reuse of what you have is just as good)
• Wet them down and roll them side by side
• Secure the top and you’ll find them heated within an hour
• After use, throw them into your diaper pail right along with your cloth diapers
• Wash, dry, and start again!

There are companies out there that sell cloth wipes and cleaning solutions.  However, this is a perfect opportunity to REUSE what is already in your home.

“80% of Americans use disposable diapers (and wipes).  Those 18 billion diapers add up to 82,000 tons of plastic a year and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp — 250,000 trees. After a few hours of active service these materials are trucked away, primarily to landfills, where they sit, neatly wrapped packages of excrement, entombed undegraded for several hundred years.” -The Donella Meadows Archive