Cotton balls can still be a good fire starter without the Vaseline. I've successfully lit cotton balls soaked in alcohol...they burn relatively slowly (though not as slow as with Vaseline). The same could be done with gel hand sanitizer. I imagine you could do something similar with wax to make a less messy fire starter.

It might also be possible to pre char them at home to make something akin to cotton charcloth.

There is also the obvious medical uses.