When Dan Wiley of Anthem traveled through Asia, he was impressed by how refreshing a chilled, scented towel felt on a hot, sticky day. The Japanese tradition of oshibori, the offer of a moist towel upon arrival at a fine hotel or restaurant, is the idea behind GetFreshTowels.com.

The same tradition could benefit parents schlepping across the country or just down the street to soccer practice. Unlike baby wipes, or similar products, the towels are 100 percent cotton, reusable and lightly scented with lemongrass, cucumber, lemon-lime or green tea oil. The individually packaged towels come in four varieties: Sport Fresh, Clean-Kids, Rainz and Aqueous. The Clean-Kids towel is lemon-lime scented and smaller in size. All are individually packaged, hypo-allergenic, alcohol-free and antimicrobal. Unlike paper-based wipes, these towels can be laundered to create a stash of soft cloths for reuse.

The towels are offered by certain resorts, charter aircraft and limousine companies and are available for purchase online and at 10 Valley locations, including three stores in Sky Harbor Terminal 4. Wiley hopes to expand into different markets and ramp up production gradually.

This article first appeared in the January 2008 issue of Raising Arizona Kids magazine. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, broadcast or redistributed without permission of the publisher. For more information, write to editorial@raisingarizonakids.com.