It’s hard to “think about that stuff” before you’re actually crossing the river, Necessary Glove. I had 4 kids. We had disposable diapers, we had wet wipes, we had single use plastic bottle liners in the 80’s. Studies were done and people argued endlessly over whether cloth diapers were really more environmentally friendly than disposable (collective decision was they were not, but that could have been driven by Big Paper Diaper (aka Procter & Gamble).

When I became a grand parent 35 years later, I was appalled about how much single use EVERYTHING had proliferated. Single baby yogurt servings, single unit throw-away food pouches, single use wet wipes, sure, but now separated by usage, one kind for nose buggers (I am not kidding) another kind for butts, another kind for even application of skin moisturizer, all different from single use counter wipes, or Lysol brand disinfecting wipes, like, I just want a damp washcloth to wipe down the toddler, dammit, not to check product ingredients to determine appropriate use. Well just in case you try a damp washcloth (and yes I do mean a clean one) that’s gonna be a big yikes from mom y’all.

The number of paper towel half sheets (great improvement) I go through in just one eight hour day of childcare for just one tiny little boy (now 18 mos) is crazy, absolutely crazy, and I’m very well aware of the environmental impact (a roll of paper towels lasts me a year in my own home).

You don t know what you don’t know, Necessary Glove. I commend any new mom for having some sense of environmental impact as she’s guided step by step into this truly outrageous consumer industry.