Mabon, a lot of single use things are not very good for the environment, but perhaps this case is not quite so bad as others. The wipes themselves do actually biodegrade in the end. The paper contains a chemical known as a 'wet strength resin' which is what stops the wipes falling apart to mush in the packet, or your fingers going through them like a wet tissue. But this wet strength effect doesn't last indefinitely. The packaging is more of a problem. But someone terminally ill, perhaps in an infectious risking environment like a hospital, seems more justified in using them than e.g. the rest of us at the end of a meal in a restaurant, say.
