A checklist for people writing about The UnWipe

Thank you for looking at The UnWipe™ brand wipes replacement on behalf of your audience. It's the absolute replacement for flushable wipes, with benefits for the consumer and for the planet.

These notes are a checklist of what The UnWipe is designed to do – it has hygiene benefits, cost benefits, convenience benefits, and environmental benefits. Because it uses a different approach than the alternatives, this was a chance to think differently about people's current needs and problems and bring more value to consumers.

In a world awash in single-use plastics and garbage, The UnWipe replaces not just a major source of litter, but one that is doing unconscionable damage to infrastructure worldwide. Our goal is that no one ever buys another "flushable" wipe.

Measures of success

• Does the strong, rich, perfectly wet texture from The UnWipe clean better than toilet paper alone?
• Does your toilet paper transformed by The UnWipe allow you to stop buying, using, and flushing "flushable" wipes?
• Can you travel with The UnWipe to have superior personal hygiene always available wherever you go?

Six key points

• Texture cleans better – it just does – and The UnWipe has 10X the texture of wipes and dry toilet paper. The UnWipe makes the paper stronger, too, so that it holds the texture. And with all that, The UnWipe removes the abrasiveness of the paper. Paper that is stronger, richly textured, perfectly wet, and less abrasive is more effective at cleaning and more comfortable to use.
• No repeat purchase, unlike wipes and sprays. Do consumers tire of everything being a subscription and repeat purchase? We sure do. Unlike other products you need to keep buying, The UnWipe is a one-time purchase. With the materials we use for its construction, it should last for many years with normal use.
• Just add water. The UnWipe is crazy simple to use because it's the same habits people have had for a lifetime, paired with water, and water cleans great. More water or less water is up to the individual. Some people will like the transformed paper a little wetter and others barely damp. People can use The UnWipe as they prefer, and they'll never run out of product as they do with wipes and sprays. Plus, it's designed to make sure the paper does not fall apart as you wet it or use it.
• The UnWipe is portable by design, so we go where you go. Think of all the places it’s now easy to be clean – home, the office, the gym, camping, highway rest areas, festivals, gas stations, bars and restaurants, airports, airplanes, your parents' home, and so many more.
• Unlitter. Flushable wipes litter. The UnWipe unlitters. It uses the toilet paper you’d use anyway, and toilet paper is built to disintegrate in sewers and septic systems, unlike wipes. Despite wipes being labeled "flushable" and "septic safe," they do not biodegrade like toilet paper, and thus cause $1,000,000,000 of damage to plumbing and sewers every year. Billion with a B. The UnWipe causes no damage to wastewater systems.
• Does no harm. The materials it’s made of are meant to last through years of daily use, and the toilet paper it transforms will decompose in sewers without causing damage. Flushable wipes, however, are synthetic, often with plastic fibers or resins, do not decompose well in sewers, and cause clogs that cost homeowners and taxpayers ridiculous amounts of money. Think about wipes this way: how can a fabric not decompose while stored wet in its plastic package, and yet decompose quickly when wet in a toilet bowl? It can't. And don't ignore that packaging – wipes and sprays (each a repeat purchase) each have single-use plastic packaging, some labeled "do not recycle". The UnWipe does not.
• Summary: The UnWipe is not a magic laser or sonic dirt remover, things that don't exist. But it cleans better because of our patent-pending texture, requires no repeat purchase, and doesn’t wreck sewers and litter the planet.

Bonus Points

• Correcting misconception #1: What touches what. The UnWipe does not touch your butt. It stays clean. The UnWipe transforms your own or any toilet paper to have exceptional texture, and that's what touches and cleans your butt.
• Correcting misconception #2: What is used up and repurchased. Nothing is used up and repurchased. Unlike flushable wipes and sprays that consumers need to keep buying, The UnWipe is a one-time purchase that should last indefinitely. All you add to it is clean water from a faucet.
• Correcting misconception #3: Wet toilet paper falls apart. Yes, dunking and spraying toilet paper to make it wet does make it soggy and cause it to fall apart just when you need it the most. But pressing 🧻 into the mesh of The UnWipe compresses it and uses just ½ tsp of water, so the paper actually gets stronger as it gets its texture, and that cleans better.

Design

The UnWipe was inspired by home decor items and popular cosmetics, and not janitorial supplies.

It’s sized to be discrete, yet be appealing when seen. Size, shape, color, and material were deliberate choices that often required going against traditional industry advice.

Materials

• Silicone rubber, which is soft, durable, sustainable, hypoallergenic, sanitary.
• Cellulose sponge, from plant-based cellulose, super tough and durable.
• Packaging is cardboard.

Size

4" x 3" x 1"

10 cm x 7.5 cm x 2.5 cm

• Colors
• Varied

Durability

• We have test product in use for 7 years and running, and still looking new.
• The sponge lasts long because it’s not used for scrubbing, and it’s not in contact with food or dirt, such as with a kitchen sponge. It touches just clean water, and the cellulose is insoluble.
• Assumes regular cleaning (because bathrooms have germs) by microwave, dishwasher, or vinegar.
• We had The UnWipe tested by a certified aquatics testing laboratory. After one month of regular use, The UnWipe was absent of any of the microorganisms they test for in determining if water is safe for human contact. We thus recommend The UnWipe be cleaned at least monthly because that's not unreasonable for any bathroom item.

Breakeven time & cost

• The UnWipe saves people money every day compared to wipes and alternatives because it's a one-time purchase, while wipes must be purchased every few weeks. After the first six months or so, using The UnWipe wipes replacement is money in your pocket that you aren't spending on wipes. It's pure savings after that.
• If you use the crazy-expensive travel packs of wipes, the breakeven time is much sooner. The benefits of The UnWipe are greater still, because those travel packs come with even more unconscionable, disposable packaging.
• The breakeven compared to sprays is even better, because they are roughly twice the cost of wipes.
• And bidets? They cost much more on average than The UnWipe, they required plumbing and maybe electrical changes, they still require paper or cloths in some fashion, and they aren't portable.
• Flushable wipes cost from 3¢ to up to 27¢ per use, and you have to keep buying them forever. Easily $40+ a year plus all the damage they cause. Toilet paper sprays cost double that, and you have to keep buying them forever. Bidets cost $99 or $299 or $1,499 – $300 to $400 on average – plus installation. The UnWipe wipes replacement is a one-time purchase with no plastic, and you can use it practically forever. It will cost ⅓ of one penny or less per use—maybe $3 a year.

Who will use it?

• We focus on current users of flushable wipes because that product is so harmful and The UnWipe is so beneficial.
• We also focus on non-users of wipes because so many of those people avoids wipes because of the damage they cause to the planet.
• Very few people don’t care about how clean they are.
• Very few people think dry toilet paper alone is good enough.
• The appeal is to all genders and most ages, recognizing that the younger generations – Millennials and Gen Z – are typically more comfortable with the topic than folks from prior generations.
• If someone uses toilet paper, The UnWipe is a great and affordable companion.
• So yeah, our customers are people who have a butt.

Will people keep The UnWipe at home or on their person?

• It’s individual.
• Some have one and keep it in their main home bathroom and then carry it when they leave the house.
• Others find it more convenient to leave one at home, keep one in a desk at work, and have one for a purse, backpack, or gym bag when they travel or are otherwise away from home.
• Some families may share, while others will be like the newlywed who said in reference to her groom, "He can get his own!" This is a personal hygiene product, so it's personal.
• It is really awkward to be in a bathroom without The UnWipe once you get used to feeling cleaner with it. It’s kind of like when you know your hands are dirty, and only have a dry paper towel available. You feel the difference, and it's just awkward.

Where is the product useful?

• Wherever you might need the bathroom. That applies equally to all people. And for women, that is more places and more often.
• The obvious places are at home and at work.
• Our customers have been quick to point out the other places they feel especially hygienically-vulnerable and desire cleanliness:
• Camping
• The gym
• Airplane lavatories
• Airports
• Roadside rest stops
• Any porta-potty, such as at a festival
• Amusement parks
• Hotels
• Grocery store bathrooms
• Walmart bathrooms
• Mall bathrooms
• Visiting a friend’s house
• School
• Park with bathroom facilities
• Golf course
• Restaurants
• Bars/Clubs
• Sports arenas
• International Space Station

What about the other products?

• Toilet paper. Dry paper is useful as a first pass. It's not enough though for a perfect clean. When dry paper is used, and then the The UnWipe is used, it will be obvious that additional cleaning has been done – the very definition of effectiveness. The great thing is that toilet paper is available everywhere – home, schools, offices, highway rest areas, porta-potties – and The UnWipe works with all toilet papers.
• Flushable wipes. We've said enough. There's no good reason for them. Wipes should not be flushed, period. Alternatively, throwing used wipes in the trash is nasty and unhygienic. They are wasteful and toxic.
• Sprays. Spray some mix of liquids on toilet paper and wipe. The good news is they don't damage sewers like wipes do. But they don't create the stronger, textured paper that only The UnWipe does (we're patent pending, after all), and texture cleans better. Sprays have to be bought again every month or two, and ship in throw-away bottles with throw-away packaging. With The UnWipe, you just add water, and that cleans wonderfully – get better results and save money.
• Bidets. Some folks love them and some folks laugh at them. They don't wreck sewers like flushed wipes do, so yay! Compared to The UnWipe, they aren't portable, they don't provide texture, they require installation, and they're expensive. They also need ... ummm, friction ... to clean thoroughly. Just a quick spray isn't enough. Many people don't like that the spray creates an aerosol of black (dirty) water and that you still need paper or a towel to wipe and to dry. Look at the list above of where The UnWipe can be used. No bidets there. If you have a bidet, you still need The UnWipe. If you have The UnWipe, you don't need a bidet. Yes, there are portable ones, but that's yet another expense, they have limited water capacity, they're awkward to hold while you're perched on the seat, they have to be held down in the dirty bowl, their spray can too easily wet legs, seat, and clothes that should stay dry, and you still need toilet paper to wipe and dry.

Sustainability

• "Flushable" wipes are a $3B/year market out of a total market for all wipes (baby wipes, kitchen wipes, etc) of $39B.
• At a retail price of 3¢ each (varies from 2.5¢ to 27¢), that's 100,000,000,000 wipes flushed each year.
• That's enough to fill the Empire State Building twice each year with filthy wipes.
• Flushed wipes have been documented repeatedly to conservatively cause $1B of damage yearly to plumbing and sewers in the U.S. alone.
• An individual county can expect to spend from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions of dollars each year to dig up and replace pipes and pumps clogged by flushed wipes.
• Homeowner plumbing clogs from wipes can cost thousands or more to repair, and worse for apartments and office buildings.
• Seven states have or are adding legislation about the harmful use of wipes. https://www.nacwa.org/news-publications/news-detail/2023/03/01/three-states-introduce-wipes-bills
• Wipes can contain plastic fibers, resins, and packaging (the packaging is typically non-recyclable) https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-65166859#
• Flushed wipes have to be dug out of pipes, pumps, and wastewater treatment plants and hauled off to landfills...100B of them each year.
• The UnWipe has zero plastic in the product or its packaging.
• The UnWipe is made from silicone and wood/cotton-based cellulose, which should last decades.
• The UnWipe's packaging is from managed-growth forests with water-based inks and can be composted or recycled.
• The UnWipe is reused for decades, while wipes are single-use disposables.
• For every person who uses The UnWipe, approximately 1,000 wipes are not flushed, do not cause a clog, and are not hauled off to landfills every year forever.

Is The UnWipe an eco product or a hygiene product?

• It's a personal care product that cleans better and easier. And that you don't need to keep buying.
• It's also the best environmental choice in the personal hygiene sector, and the consumer gets those environmental benefits as a free byproduct of using The UnWipe. How does that work?
• By using The UnWipe, people stop using and flushing wipes, and that's a huge environmental win.
• By using The UnWipe, no plastic is used, whether in the product or as packaging.
• By using The UnWipe, the consumer doesn't have to keep buying wipes or liquids, and that means less packaging and less shipping, too.
• Most consumers we surveyed prefer to use a sustainable product – if it's as convenient, affordable, and effective as mainstream products. Every product compromise weakens their resolve. The UnWipe brings these benefits to consumers as a natural result of its design, and without compromise.

The Psychology of The UnWipe

• Being clean is addicting
• Convenience of no repeat purchase
• Convenience of available everywhere
• Convenience of not having to ration usage
• Convenience of not running out
• Convenience of water
• Convenience of protecting whatever clothes you're wearing
• The good feeling of environmental benefit with no extra effort
• Once you find a way to have a clean bum, you don't want to go back to just dry paper. The feeling of clean is addicting.
• We recommend that new customers use The UnWipe consistently for seven days. They'll learn how wet to make paper, how often to repeat, how easy it is to add water.
• Then don't use it for two days. Our experience is that those two days are really awkward, because people become used to the feeling of cleanliness. 
• Customers feel great knowing they can use The UnWipe again and again, and they don't have to subscribe to anything or keep buying refills.
• Customers feel great knowing their clothes will be cleaner, whether it's the thinnest thong, tightest tights, or shortest shorts.

Style guidelines

• The company is The UnWipe Company Inc.
• The product is The UnWipe™ brand wipes replacement. The ™ and “brand” are best used on the first mention on a page/article/section. The W is capitalized. Please do not use "unwipe" alone or as a verb or as the name of the product.
• The website is theunwipe.com.
• The product is “patent pending.” That should ideally be mentioned at least once to inform people that it’s not just a new and useful product, but a protected one, too, with three different patent filings. No one else is permitted to transform toilet paper in this way.

Thank you for your interest in The UnWipe™ brand wipes replacement. There's a good chance your audience has a bum, and would like it and the planet to be their squeaky cleanest. We're happy to help you and them.

Send us a message with this form, and we'll be in touch as soon as possible. Add your phone number in the message if you prefer a call. Please include your media outlet in the message so we can prep for working with you.