r/planysustainability • u/sarah-plany • 11d ago
Environmental Friendly WetWipes
🧻💧 My history with wet wipes goes way back, long before I had children. 👩👧👦
I mean, what could be more practical than water and a tissue combined, and then disposable too? I used them when I was younger to freshen up my face on hot summer days, or to freshen up my bottom before dates 😅
As a mom with small children, it’s also hard to imagine life without them - how else do you clean your baby's bottom on the go? Even as an environmentally conscious person, I wouldn't want to live without them and YES, I still use wet wipes. BUT, I use them much less frequently and more sparingly, because there are much better and environmental friendly ways to clean your baby's bottom:
- At home: After a big poop, I always wash my babies under the sink with warm water and then dry them with a towel. 🚿🧺 In my opinion, this is much more hygienic and quicker (which the babies also find great instead of having to lie still forever).
- On the go: If there's a toilet or changing room with a sink nearby, the same procedure as in point 1. Personally, I prefer a bit of peace and quiet and usually wait until no one is looking. Of course, I leave the sink as clean as I found it. 💁♀️
- For the truly environmentally conscious among you who really want to completely avoid disposable wet wipes: There are washable cloth napkins that come with a spray bottle and wet bag. Does anyone of you use these? Would love to hear your experience! 🎓
Back to my reality - There are great, more environmental friendly alternatives to conventional wet wipes. Of course, it goes without saying that they should be PLASTIC-FREE and FRAGRANCE-FREE, which is good for us and for the planet. The comparatively high price motivates me to use them even more sparingly 🌱
I personally buy and love (living in Germany): 🇩🇪 🛍️
A) Eco by Naty (they have flushable and compostable ones) and B) Lillydoo (a little bit cheaper). Eco by Naty is a bit thinner than Lillydoo - some people might not like that, for me it’s still totally fine.
In my eyes you can spare yourself wet wipes with 🫒 etc, because I find it a waste to rub of poop with such valuable ingredients. I rather clean first and then use separate oils and lotions, such a calendula lotion. Also, there is such little product on the oil based wet wipes, I couldn’t even feel or smell it (at least the lillydoo ones with olive oil). I know some people swear by wet wipes with oil though.
I also would love to test out C) Alviana and D) Natracare, but for me it’s a bit inconvenient to purchase the brands, because I can’t find them in my local store where I usually shop everything else I need. I used Natracare for my postpartum pads and loved them so much, but this brand certainly is a little more expensive 🫰
In case you live outside of Germany 🇺🇸 🌍, there are some sustainable brands for wet wipes that sound good to me reading though "Green Matters" - The 10 Best Natural, Plastic-Free Baby Wipe Brands I haven’t tested any of these. Have you?
🌐 My questions for you:
❤️ How do the environmental gurus among you manage to completely avoid wet wipes? Organizationally unthinkable for me on the go... Please tell me, I'm very curious.
❤️ What other alternative wet wipe brands can you recommend?
Speaking of which, since I can't fit under the sink anymore and unfortunately don't have a bidet, happypo is a hygienic and planet-friendly alternative to wet wipes for me. Also great for on the go! 🍑 Do you own a portable bidet?
PS: If you potty train your baby/toddler (as early as possible) or practice elimination communication it's even easier because then there's usually hardly anything on their bottom and you save even more waste 👌 my first one got out of diapers really quickly because I did as much elimination communication as I could 🙌