A Bill aimed at banning wet wipes which contain plastic has cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons on 2nd November after a Labour MP proposed the new law. This proposal came as world leaders met in Glasgow for the Climate Breakdown Summit and we think it’s about time.
At Tops Day Nurseries, they’ve been making their own baby wipes for years after finding out that the baby wipes available on the market at that time all contained one-use plastic.
One of the biggest reasons Tops stopped buying baby wipes is due to the amount of pollution they cause. Around 93% of sewer pipe blockages in the UK are caused by baby wipes, which can ultimately cause widespread pollution.
We also found several irritants and chemicals in the commercially bought baby wipes which can aggravate delicate skin, whereas more natural, organic products can do the same job without those factors, and without it costing as much.
Cheryl Hadland, Former Managing Director at Tops Day Nurseries, said: “Our whole ethos at Tops is to be sustainable and we are always looking for ways to improve our practice in a friendly way to the natural world. After introducing the glitter ban in 2017, stopping all one-use plastics that we could, throughout our nurseries, and becoming the first chain of day nurseries to achieve B Corp Accreditation in the UK, we are very happy to see more action towards saving our planet in the form of a proposal for a new law to ban the sale or manufacture of wet wipes that contain plastic. However, it is time manufacturers took more responsibility for their products rather than expecting consumers or governments to do it for them.”
Find out more about DIY baby wipes here.
