As evident by our Baby Wipes Showdown we did a while ago, baby wipes can contain some pretty nasty and unpronounceable ingredients. For something you’re using daily on your baby and tossing into a landfill it’s great to be able to pick something a little less toxic and a little less tough on the earth. Of course there is always the tried and true reusable wipes, which many swear by, sometimes you need something you don’t want to worry about washing or to carry around in your diaper bag for quick clean ups.
Elements Naturals™ is a relatively new product on the market now making appearances in Whole Foods and on Diapers.com. Typical baby wipes can be made of a combination of cotton, polypropylene and other materials which together aren’t biodegradable. Elements Naturals is made of a new material called Ingeo™ fibers, the world’s first man-made fiber from annually renewable resources. From their website: “Ingeo™ fibers are free of chemical additives or surface treatments. Their production requires 68% less fossil fuel resources than the traditional oil-based materials; and with the purchase of wind power-based Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) uses 90% fewer greenhouse gases (GHG) than traditional synthetic wipes.”
They’re renewable, compostable, biodegradable, chlorine and fragrance free and don’t have a massive list of gross chemical additives on the label. The nice thing too is that they’re soft, just like any other baby wipe and they are much bigger… each wipe is larger than traditional wipes so you actually use less. They come in a recyclable resealable package so you can bring them anywhere and recycle the wrapper with your regular plastics.
Where Can I Find Them: Elements Naturals are available at some Northwest Whole Foods stores, or you can order them online at Diapers.com!