US20080110920A1

US20080110920A1 - System for Packaging Rolls of Wet Wipes in a Soft Sided Container

Info

Publication number: US20080110920A1
Application number: US11/937,962
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph F. Hlista; Bruce Greening; Kishore Reddy Gonpati
Original assignee: ROCKLINE INDUSTRIES Inc
Current assignee: ROCKLINE INDUSTRIES Inc
Priority date: 2006-11-09
Filing date: 2007-11-09
Publication date: 2008-05-15

Abstract

A soft sided package for a wipe product is disclosed. The package is constructed of a flexible material capable of retaining a plurality of wipes. Preferably, the soft package is a refill package formed to snugly fit within the housing of a rigid wipes container.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/858,137, which is entitled “System for Packaging Rolls of Wet Wipes in a Cylindrical Soft Sided Film Container,” and which was filed on Nov. 9, 2006, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention—This invention generally relates to wipes for consumer healthcare, infant care, cleaning and wiping products, and in particular, dispensing system including a refill package for a wipes container and a method for packaging a refill roll of a wipe product.
In the past few years, wetted wipe products or wetted towelettes have become extremely popular and are used in a variety number of applications. For example, wet wipes are extremely convenient for families with children, for changing diapers and cleaning up messes—with the soiled wipe being easily disposed of after use. Wipes for household cleaning, dusting, mopping and sanitizing are also very popular, as pre-wetted wipes can be easily retrieved from the source container, used once for sanitary purposes and then thrown away after use. Wipes for use in industrial or institutional applications, such as those including compositions such as degreasers, wood or metal polishes, alcohols or sterilizing agents and other cleaning compositions are also gaining widespread use.
A common form of packaging wet wipes is to provide a stack of moistened sheets which have been packaged in a rigid plastic container. In this format, the wipes are stacked in the container in either a folded or unfolded configuration. For example, containers of wet wipes have been available wherein each of the wet wipes stacked in the container has been arranged in a folded configuration such as a c-folded, z-folded or quarter-folded configuration as are well known to those skilled in the art. Some of the folded wet wipes have also been interfolded with the wet wipes immediately above and below in the stack of wet wipes.
In another common configuration, the wet wipes are placed into a container in the form of a continuous web of material. The web of material includes perforations to separate the individual wet wipes, and the web is wound into a coreless roll. In this configuration, a user withdraws the wipe vertically from the container.
Because wipe products are typically provided in thick, rigid plastic containers, there is a need for replacement wipe refill packages to reduce waste of the original plastic dispensing container. Further, there are some applications where a soft wipe dispensing package, including the wipe product, would be less expensive to manufacture and provide to the consumer and more convenient to the user than transporting a heavier or bulkier wipe dispensing container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disadvantages and limitations of the background art discussed above are overcome by the present invention. With this invention, a soft sided package for retaining a plurality of wipes is provided. It will be appreciated that any type of wetted wipes, wet cleaning cloths or other disposables may be included in the package of the present invention. The soft package is not directed to any specific wipe application and the wipes can include a wide variety of compositions, such as personal hygiene, baby care, cleaning, sanitizing, and polishing compositions. The soft package of the present invention is preferably used with a wetted product, however, dry cloth or wipe products may be contained within the package. The wipe material itself can be any natural or synthetic woven or nonwoven material. In particular, the material may be any airlaid, hydrospun, and/or hydroentangled nonwoven substrate known to those skilled in the art.
In certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, the soft package is constructed of four pieces including a bottom, a top having an dispensing opening formed therein, a rectangular, main body sheet and a lid. The main body sheet is configured so that its side edges overlap forming an open ended, cylindrical tube. The edges of the sheet are then secured together forming a substantially impermeable seal therebetween. The edges of the sheet can be sealed together using adhesive, welds or by any means known to those skilled in the art.
The bottom is secured to one of the open ends of the cylindrical tube, enclosing the bottom of the package to provide an area for retaining the roll of wipes. The bottom is also sealed to the sheet using adhesive, welds or by any means known to those skilled in the art suitable for impermeably sealing the edges of the flexible packaging material together. Once the bottom of the package is sealed, the roll of wipes is placed into the area of the package along with any liquid compositions required for the wipe product.
The top is then secured to the other one of the open ends of the cylindrical tube using adhesive, welds or by any means known to those skilled in the art. An adhesive is preferably provided on the top in order to secure the lid to the package. The adhesive may be of any type known to those skilled in the art that will permit the lid to be peeled away from and/or removed from the package. The adhesive is sufficient to provide a substantially impermeable seal between the lid and the top of the package to retain moisture in the package; however, the adhesive is selected to allow a user to easily remove the lid without damaging the remaining portions of the package. The lid is then secured to the package over the top thereof, completely closing the dispensing opening in the top of the package.
Each of the bottom, the top, the body sheet and the removable lid of the present invention are constructed of a substantially flexible, thin film or packaging material, including, but not limited to plastics, coated papers, foils or a combination thereof. Those skilled in the art that the flexible packaging material used to construct the present invention can be selected based on the type of wipe contained therein, and therefore, can be selected based on such factors, including but not limited to, moisture content and compositions included on the product, wet strength of the packaging material, the permeability of the material, required storage life of the product and desired material recycling characteristics. It will be appreciated that the flexible material is preferably provided with sufficient integrity that the package, once constructed, can be displayed in a stand-alone manner.
The soft package of the present invention is then inserted into the wipes product container. In particular, the soft package is inserted into a pre-used or empty rigid plastic wipes container. Preferably, the dimensions of the soft package are configured so that the package snugly fits into the container. In this way, the soft package is not likely to fall out of the container. Accordingly, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that the size and shape of the package is dictated by the size and shape of the original wipes container, and as such, the package is cylindrical in this example. The cylindrical package can also be sized to fit a number of different cylindrical containers or canisters so that the package may be used as a refill for original rigid containers or canister products supplied by different manufacturers, but all having an overall cylindrical shape.
The soft package of the present invention constructed of a flexible, compactable material with a minimum number of pieces, reducing the manufacturing cost for assembly and packaging of the wipes compared to traditional plastic container packaging. The flexible, soft material of the present invention also renders the soft package lightweight and less expensive to transport during distribution and provides a more environmentally friendly system for dispensing wipes than traditional containers. For example, when the roll of wipes within the package of the present invention is exhausted by the user, the package can be compressed and recycled or thrown away, minimizing space occupied by the discarded package in the trash or in landfills.
The soft sided wipes package of the present invention will also work well as a stand alone container. Consistent with the broader aspects of the present invention, the soft package of the present invention can include a soft body portion and an integrally included, resealable dispensing lid.
The resealable lid is integrally secured to the soft sided package near the top thereof. The lid includes an open bottom portion and a closed top portion that is preferably hinged to the bottom portion for opening and closing the soft package of wipes. The lid is provided with a dispensing mechanism or wipe retainer which allows the user to individually dispense and perforate the wipes in the roll of wipes.
The apparatus of the present invention is of a construction which is both durable and long lasting, and which will require little or no maintenance to be provided by the user throughout its operating lifetime. The apparatus of the present invention is also of inexpensive construction to enhance its market appeal and to thereby afford it the broadest possible market. Finally, all of the aforesaid advantages and objectives are achieved without incurring any substantial relative disadvantage.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a is a perspective view of an assembled soft pack according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the soft pack illustrated in FIG. 1, showing assembly thereof;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the soft pack illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 2, showing insertion of the pack into a wipes container;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the soft pack illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3, illustrating removal of the soft pack lid and replacement of the rigid lid onto the container;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the soft pack illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 4, showing dispensation of the wipes from the soft pack;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the soft pack illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, shown disposed within the container, taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a soft package of wipes according to another embodiment of the present invention, showing an alternate lid;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a soft package of wipes illustrated in illustrated in FIG. 7, showing the alternate rigid lid integrally included thereon; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a soft package of wipes according to yet another embodiment of the present invention, showing an shape of the soft package.

While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A four piece soft package 30 containing a wetted wipe or towelette product is provided consistent with the preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 6. It will be appreciated that any type of wetted wipes, wet cleaning cloths or other disposables may be included in the package 30. As such, the present invention is not directed to any specific wipe application and the wipes can include a wide variety of compositions, such as personal hygiene, baby care, household cleaning, hand cleaning, sanitizing, and polishing compositions. The soft package 30 is preferably used with a wetted product, however, dry cloth or wipe applications may be contained within the package.
The wipe material provided within the package 30 may be any natural or synthetic woven or nonwoven material. In particular, the material may be any airlaid, hydrospun and/or hydroentangled nonwoven substrate known to those skilled in the art. The wipes can be provided in a web or roll form with perforations located between individual wipes, or the wipes can be provided in stack in either a folded, interfolded, or unfolded configuration as is well known to those skilled in the art. As will be appreciated, the configuration of the wipes disposed within the package 30 are provided in substantially the same manner as the wipe product originally provided with a preexisting/reused container 20, so that the package 30 can be easily used as a refill pack within the container 20. Accordingly, in certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, the type of material, size, shape, fold style and/or perforation pattern of the replacement wipe product is substantially the same as the originally provided wipe product.
Turning now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the soft package 30 is configured to retain a roll of wipes 32. The package 30 is constructed of a substantially flexible, thin film or packaging material, including, but not limited to plastics, coated papers, foils or a combination thereof. The flexible packaging material used to construct the present invention can be selected based on the type of wipe contained therein, and therefore, can be selected based on such factors, including but not limited to, moisture content and compositions included on the product, wet strength of the packaging material, the permeability of the material, required storage life of the product and desired material recycling characteristics. It will be appreciated that the flexible material is preferably provided with sufficient integrity or strength that the package 30, once constructed, can be displayed in a stand-alone manner.
The package 30, in its simplest form, is a four-piece construction including a bottom piece 34, a top piece 36 having a dispensing opening 37, a sidewall sheet 38, and a lid piece 40 having a tab 41. The sidewall sheet 38 forms the main body portion of the soft package 30 and includes top and bottom edges 42 and 44, opposing side edges 46 and 48 and interior and exterior surfaces 50 and 52. Each of the bottom, top, sidewall and lid pieces of the package preferably comprise a unitary or single piece of material.
The exterior surface 52 of the sidewall sheet 38 can be provided, preferably before assembly, with indicia (not shown in the FIGS.) that includes branding information, product details, manufacturer and other consumer information. This information can be printed directly on to the flexible packaging material, or the material can be coated with a printable label material, as will be well known to those skilled in the art. The exterior surfaces of the bottom piece, top piece and lid piece may also be provided with indicia.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the package 30 is constructed by forming the generally rectangular, sidewall sheet 38 into an open-ended tube or cylinder so that the edges 46 and 48 are aligned and abut or overlap each other. The edges 46 and 48 are secured together using an adhesive, welds or by any means known to those skilled in the art suitable for sealing the edges of the flexible packaging material together. Because the roll of wipes 32 is preferably to be a roll or a stack of wet wipes, the edges 46 and 48 together form a substantially impermeable seal 49.
The bottom piece 34 is then secured to the sidewall sheet 38 at the bottom edge 44 thereof and disposed substantially perpendicular thereto, enclosing a bottom 54 of the package 30. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the bottom piece 34 includes an outer edge 61 folded in a downward direction and sealed to the interior surface of the sidewall sheet 38. The folded outer edge 61 of the bottom piece 34 provides a lip 56 at the bottom 54 of the package 30. Alternatively, the bottom piece 34 can be adhered flush to the bottom edge 44 of the sidewall sheet 38. The bottom piece 38 is sealed to the sidewall sheet 38 using adhesive, welds or by any means known to those skilled in the art suitable for substantially impermeably sealing the edges of the flexible packaging material together.
The sidewall sheet 38 and the bottom piece 34 together form an interior compartment 55 for retaining the roll of wipes 32. The compartment 55 is preferably sized so that the roll of wipes 32 easily fits therein, with the outer edges of the roll of wipes close adjacent to and/or contacting the inside surface of the interior compartment, to minimize unoccupied space within the package 30. Once the bottom 54 of the package 30 is sealed, the roll of wipes 32 is placed into the interior compartment 55 of the package 30 along with any liquid compositions 33 required for the wipe product. The liquid composition, if provided, can be also put on to the wipe product before it is inserted into the package 30.
The top piece 36 is secured to the sidewall sheet 38 substantially near the top edge 42 thereof, disposed substantially perpendicular thereto. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the top piece 36 includes an outer edge 63 that is folded upwardly and secured to the interior surface 50 of the sidewall sheet 38. The folded outer edge 63 of the top piece 36 provides a lip 58 at the top 60 of the package 30. The top piece 36 can be secured to the sidewall sheet 38 using adhesive, welds or by any means known to those skilled in the art suitable for sealing the edges of the flexible packaging material together. It will be appreciated that the lips 56 and 58 can help provide the assembled soft package 30 with sufficient rigidity and/or stability to allow the package to stand on its bottom 54, in an upright position for display purposes.
The lid piece 40 is secured to the package 30 around the dispensing opening 37 of the top piece 36 to provide a temporary seal between the lid piece 40 and the top piece 36 before the package is open by the user. The seal may be formed using welds and/or adhesive 60. If an adhesive is used, the adhesive 60 may be of any type known to those skilled in the art that will permit the lid piece 40 to be peeled away from and/or removed from the package 30 by the user. The welds or adhesive 60 is sufficient to provide a substantially impermeable seal between the lid piece 40 and the top piece 36 of the package 30 to retain moisture in the package before the package is opened. However, the method of sealing the package closed is selected to allow a user to easily remove the lid piece 40 without damaging the remaining portions of the package, or rupturing any of the seals between the remaining portions of the package.
The soft package 30 of the present invention is preferably constructed with a minimum number of pieces, reducing the manufacturing and assembly costs traditional rigid, plastic container packaging. The soft package 30 of the present invention is lightweight and less expensive to transport during distribution and use. In addition, when the roll of wipes 32 within the package 30 is exhausted by the user, the package 30 of the present invention can be compressed and recycled or thrown away, minimizing space occupied by the discarded package 30 in the trash or in landfills.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the soft package 30 is inserted into the product container 20. Preferably, the dimensions of the soft package 30 are configured so that the package 30 snugly fits into the container 20. In this way, the soft package 30 is not likely to fall out of the container. Accordingly, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that the size and shape of the package 30 is preferably dictated by the size and shape of the original/preexisting wipes container, and as such, the package 30 is cylindrical. The package 30 can also be sized to fit a number of different containers or canisters so that it may be used as a refill for original rigid containers or canister products supplied by different manufacturers, but all having an overall cylindrical shape.
Indeed, FIG. 9 illustrates a soft sided package 70 having a generally oval shape. The package 70 is constructed in substantially the same manner as the package 30 shown in FIGS. 1 through 6, except that the sidewall sheet 38 is configured in an oval to fit a generally oval-shaped container or canister. Consistent with the broader aspects of the present invention, the sidewall sheet 38 can be formed into an enclosure 99 of any shape having an open top 101 and an open bottom 103. For example, to construct a square enclosure, the sidewall sheet can be folded into four sections and secured at its opposing edges 46 and 48 to provide a generally rectangular or square enclosure. In this case, each of the bottom and the top pieces would also be generally rectangular or square in shape in order to attach to the top and bottom edges of the sidewall sheet 38.
Turning next to FIGS. 4 through 6, during use, the lid piece 40 is peeled away from the top 60 of the package by the user using the tab 41. While a portion of the lid 40 may be left in place on the package, it is preferable that the lid piece 40 be completely separated from the package and thrown away. A container lid 72 having an open bottom portion 74 is secured to an open end 76 of the wipes container 20 to retain the soft package 30 in place therein. The container lid 72 may be secured to the container 20 by threads, snap fit or by any means provided by the container manufacturer. The container lid 72 also includes a closed top portion 78 that is preferably hinged to the bottom portion 74 for opening and closing the container 20 of wipes. The top portion 78 may preferably include a ridge 80 which acts as a moisture seal when the container 20 is closed.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the container lid 72 is provided with a dispensing mechanism or wipe retainer 82 which allows the user to individually dispense and perforate the wipes in the roll of wipes 32. As illustrated in FIG. 5, once the lid 40 has been removed from the package 30, an end 84 of a wipe 86 is drawn from the roll of wipes 32 through the dispensing opening 37 in the top 60 of the package 30 and is fed through the dispensing mechanism 82 of the container 20. The top portion 78 of the container lid 72 is closed over the soft package 30 within the container 20 when the wipe product is not in use.
The soft package 30 is useful in refilling a pre-existing empty container or canister of wipes. When the wipes in the soft package 30 are exhausted, the entire package 30 is removed from the container 20 and a new soft package 30 can be inserted into the container, significantly reducing the need for the consumer to rebuy a rigid plastic container, thus reducing costs to the consumer, and also reducing the amount of waste associated with wetted wipe rigid containers. Further, the soft package 30 can be used alone, apart from the container 20, if desired.
Turning now to FIGS. 7 and 8, an alternate embodiment of a soft package 90 of the present invention is shown. Like the soft package 30, the soft package 90 includes the bottom piece 34, the top piece 36 having an dispensing opening 37 and the sidewall sheet 38. The sidewall sheet 38 is formed into an open ended cylinder, with the bottom piece 34 sealed to the bottom edge 44 and the top piece 36 sealed to the top edge 42 thereof. The package 90 is constructed of a substantially flexible thin film or packaging material, as recited above, including, but not limited to plastics, coated papers, foils or a combination thereof.
The package 90 further includes a resealable canister lid 92 permanently secured to the package 90 near the top edge 42 of the sheet 38. Preferably, the canister lid 92 is secured around the exterior surface 52 of the sidewall sheet 38. The lid 90 includes an open bottom portion 96 and a closed top portion 98 that is preferably hinged to the bottom portion 96 for opening and closing the soft package 90 of wipes. The top portion 98 may preferably include a ridge 100 which acts as a substantially impermeable seal to close the soft package 90 when the product is not in use.
The lid 90 is provided with a dispensing mechanism or wipe retainer 102 which allows the user to individually dispense and perforate the wipes in the roll of wipes 32. As illustrated in FIG. 8, once the lid 92 of the package 90 has been opened, the end 84 of the wipe 86 from the roll of wipes 32 is fed through the dispensing mechanism 102 so that the user may access the wipe.
The lid 92 is constructed of a substantially rigid material and/or a material of sufficient rigidity to allow a wipe to be retained in the dispensing mechanism 102 and easily perforated from the remainder of the wipes by a pulling force or tension by the user. The lid 92 is secured to the flexible package 90 using an adhesive or another method that permits the wipes to be pulled from the package and perforated, without the lid 92 becoming separated from the sheet 38. The lid 92 may also be fastened, threaded and/or snap fitted on to the top of the sidewall. In this way, a stand alone, soft wipes package is provided that is manufactured of a minimum number of components, and that also can be compressed are thrown away, occupying less space than traditional plastic, or molded wipes containers.
Although the foregoing description of the present invention has been shown and described with reference to particular embodiments and applications thereof, it has been presented for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the particular embodiments and applications disclosed. It will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that a number of changes, modifications, variations, or alterations to the invention as described herein may be made, none of which depart from the spirit or scope of the present invention. The particular embodiments and applications were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such changes, modifications, variations, and alterations should therefore be seen as being within the scope of the present invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.

Claims

1. A wipes packaging system comprising:

substantially flexible sidewall sheet formed into an open cylinder having first and second ends and interior and exterior surfaces;

a substantially flexible solid bottom piece having an outer edge substantially impermeably sealed to the inside surface of the first end of the cylinder;

a substantially flexible top piece having a top surface and an outer edge substantially impermeably sealed to the inside surface of the second end of the cylinder, the top piece including a dispensing opening formed therein, wherein the cylinder, the bottom piece and the top piece form an interior compartment;

a coreless roll of perforated wipes disposed within the interior compartment; and

a substantially flexible lid piece removably sealed to the top surface of the top piece around the dispensing opening.

2. The wipes packaging system of claim 1, wherein the exterior surface of the cylinder includes indicia applied thereto.

3. The wipes packaging system of claim 1, wherein the outer edge of the bottom piece is substantially impermeably sealed to the inside surface of the first end of the cylinder by at least one of welds and adhesive.

4. The wipes packaging system of claim 1, where the outer edge of the top piece is substantially impermeably sealed to the inside surface of the second end of the cylinder by at least one of welds and adhesive.

5. The wipes packaging system of claim 1, wherein the coreless roll of perforated wipes further comprises a liquid composition.

6. The wipes packaging system of claim 5, wherein the liquid composition includes at least one of a cleaning composition, a sanitizing composition and a personal hygiene composition.

7. The wipes packaging system of claim 1, wherein the coreless roll of perforated wipes is constructed of a nonwoven material.

8. The wipes packaging system of claim 1, wherein the lid piece further comprises a tab extending away from the top piece.

9. The wipes packaging system of claim 1, wherein the lid piece is removably sealed to the top surface of the top piece around the dispensing opening using at least one of an adhesive and a weld.

10. The wipes packaging system of claim 1, wherein each of the sidewall sheet, the bottom piece, the top piece and the lid piece are constructed of a substantially flexible material including at least one of plastic, foil and coated paper materials.

11. A wetted wipes packaging system for use in refilling a rigid wipes container, the packaging system consisting of:

a substantially flexible sidewall sheet formed into an open cylinder having first and second ends and interior and exterior surfaces;

12. A wipes packaging system comprising:

a flexible package including a first piece forming an enclosure having an interior surface, an exterior surface and first and second open ends, a second piece having an outer edge sealing the first end of the tube closed; a third piece having an outer edge sealed to the inside surface of the second end of the tube, the third piece including a dispensing opening formed therein, wherein first, second and third pieces form an interior compartment; and

a coreless roll of perforated wipes disposed within the interior compartment, wherein the flexible package further includes a fourth piece secured to the package around the dispensing opening and closing off the second open end of the tube.

13. The wipes packaging system of claim 12, wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth pieces are constructed of a single piece of flexible material including at least one of plastic, foil and coated paper.

14. The wipes packaging system of claim 12, wherein first piece is substantially rectangular in shape having first and second opposing edges, the first and second edges secured to each other to form a generally tubular enclosure.

15. The wipes packaging system of claim 12. wherein first piece is provided with fold lines to form a substantially rectangular enclosure.

16. The wipes packaging system of claim 12. wherein the fourth piece is flexible and removably secured to the package.

17. The wipes packaging system of claim 13. wherein the fourth piece is a removable lid having a tab.

18. The wipes packaging system of claim 12. wherein the fourth piece comprises a substantially rigid, resealable lid including an open bottom portion permanently sealed around the exterior surface of the enclosure and a closed top portion hinged to the open bottom portion of the lid, the bottom portion also including a wipes dispensing mechanism configured to retain an end of a wipe from the roll of perforated wipes.

19. A soft-sided, wipes packaging system comprising:

substantially flexible sidewall sheet constructed of a single piece of material and formed into an enclosure having first and second open ends and interior and exterior surfaces;

a substantially flexible solid bottom piece constructed of a single piece of material and having a folded outer edge substantially impermeably sealed to the inside surface of the first end of the enclosure;

a substantially flexible top piece constructed of a single piece of material and having a top surface and a folded outer edge substantially impermeably sealed to the inside surface of the second end of the enclosure, the top piece including a dispensing opening formed therein, wherein the enclosure, the bottom piece and the top piece form an interior compartment;

a plurality of individual wipes disposed within the interior compartment; and

a rigid lid having an open bottom portion permanently sealed around the exterior surface of the enclosure and a closed top portion hinged to the open bottom portion of the lid, the bottom portion also including a wipes dispensing mechanism configured to retain an end of a wipe from the roll of perforated wipes.

20. The wipes package of claim 19, wherein the wipes further comprise a liquid composition including at least one of a cleaning composition, a sanitizing composition and a personal hygiene composition.

21. The wipes package of claim 19, wherein the plurality of wipes are provided in one of a folded stack, an interfolded stack and a roll of perforated wipes.