P r o duc ts Beesw ax W r ap s
GETTING TO KNOW
BEESWAX WRAPS Since Fran Beer founded The Beeswax Wrap Co. the company has grown exponentially. So, what goes into making beeswax wra s t e eco rie l alter ati e to cli lm What are beeswax wraps? It started with the Egyptians, says Fran Beer, who founded The Beeswax Wrap Co. in 2017. “Egyptians used waxed fabric to put over pots; it was the natural way for them to store food.” But whilst the concept might not be new, but The Beeswax Wrap Co. is making it trendy, and the wraps are quickly becoming a popular and sustainable replacement for single use clin l and plastic tu s. How exactly are the wraps more eco-friendly? By using organic cotton for a start, which Fran says is something to look out for when retailers are looking to stock beeswax wraps. “If you bought beeswax wraps made from normal cotton, the
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amount of water, pesticides and chemicals that go into growing that cotton means you i ht as well uy clin l . he i issue with cotton growing in countries like India and China is that the chemicals used run off into the water supply for the local population, which can lead to illness and poor crops. So, you have to start with organic cotton which uses much less water and no chemicals. It’s making sure that each element used to make the beeswax wraps isn’t causing a bigger issue at the beginning of the supply chain.” Where is the wax sourced from? The Beeswax Wrap Co. uses UK beeswax, all sourced from within 30 miles of its workshop in the Cotswolds, though Fran warns of companies claiming to be using ‘organic’ UK beeswax as there is no such thing. “We’re such a small island and bees only roam for a couple of miles, so there is no way that you can say that it’s organic – it doesn’t exist. So, it’s looking for clarity in where the beeswax comes from. We’ve met all the beekeepers that we get our wax from, so we understand their standards of care for the hive, for instance. Look at how far companies
go to fully understand where they’re purchasing their products from.”
So, what else goes into making a beeswax wrap? Pine resin, which The Beeswax Wrap Co. buys from Portugal, and jojoba oil – it’s this which Fran says the company has struggled with somewhat. As it seeks to source all its raw materials sustainably and ethically, the company switched from Israel to America for its jojoba oil, which Fran admits has a bigger carbon footprint but offers more peace of mind and transparency. The team is now looking into sourcing its jojoba oil closer to home but using a company which offers complete transparency for the whole supply chain. “We want to improve every element of the ingredients we use, whether that’s the carbon footprint or the supply chain or something else. It’s about being aware of the positives and negatives of the ingredients that we buy and how, over time, we can improve as things change and develop.” Are these products handmade? Yes – The Beeswax Wrap Co. makes all of its ingredients by hand, melting everything down and soaking the fabric in the wax mixture for more than an hour so that e ery re is saturated in the wa . This helps to prevent the wax coating fro cru lin or fla in after only a couple of uses, which can happen with cheaper alternatives. Can other products be sold alongside the wraps? Re-wax bars, handmade solid dish soaps and natural dish scrubbers – which are made from the inside of courgettes by The Beeswax Wrap Co. – are great for stocking alongside the wraps. The re-wax bars enable the wraps to last up to six years, says Fran, and the company is working on extending this further. “For us, it’s all about prolonging the life of the wraps and not just getting people to buy every year. We want people to invest in them and buy a re-wax bar to iron on more of our wax mixture. So much goes into making
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06/04/2022 16:07
