Plastic-free food wraps are something to wax lyrical over
AFTER 22 years in retail, Catriona Mann took voluntary redundancy with “absolutely no idea” of what the future would hold for her.
“All I knew was that I did not want to get up at 5am and put a suit on to go to work any more,” she explains.
“I went off to Australia and New Zealand for nine weeks and on my first day in the latter I discovered reusable food wraps – something I had never seen or even heard of in Scotland.”
She adds, smiling: “From that moment on, the holiday became a business planning trip. I drove around in a camper van with a wee black notebook, brainstorming some ideas, thinking up names... Two days after I got back to Scotland, I registered the business, and that was how it all started.”
Waxyz, the result of that life-changing holiday in 2018, is Mann’s eco-friendly alternative to cling film.
Made of organic cotton and coated with a unique blend of food-friendly waxes, it can be used to wrap sandwiches, cheese, bread and leftovers. It also reduces waste, as food does not ‘sweat’ as it would if wrapped in plastic, and it is suitable for vegans.
After use, the wraps can be washed and reused – if cared for properly, they can last for more than a year and can then be recycled in a compost bin or as a firelighter for a barbecue.
“From the outset, I wanted a product that was effective and affordable, which meant manufacturing in larger quantities rather than going down the hand-made, artisan route – already with that, there is a price barrier and issues with scaling up,” explains the former John Lewis and Waitrose department manager.
“I wanted to have a product that could be mainstream.”
Waxyz are made from Indian organic cotton and printed in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The waxing process is carried out by world famous waxed coating specialists Halley Stevensons in Dundee.
“It has been fantastic to work with Halley Stevensons,” says Mann.
“It’s a historic business which been trading for more than 150 years, providing customers like Barbour with waxed clothing.”
Waxed cotton is an old Scottish tradition – originally used to make sails for fishing boats, the fishermen would reuse old ones by transforming them into waterproof clothing.
“Eventually, the makers came up with the idea of just producing clothing for the fishermen directly,” says Mann. “I discovered that the whole process actually began in the Fife village of
Cellardyke, which is about three miles away from where I live now in Crail.”
Adding the wax is a complex (and secret) process, she adds.
“With other reusable wraps made from beeswax, there can be a sticky residue and a bit of a smell,” she says. “Because the wax we use is impregnated into the cotton, there is no stickiness at all and no smell. They are quite dry to the touch, but when it pressed together or on to something like a bowl, they stick.”
The first Waxyz came off the production line in June 2019. Before the coronavirus outbreak, growth was steeply increasing, says Mann, and the response from customers was enthusiastic. As well as selling directly from her company website, bplasticfree.com, the wraps are stocked by an ever-increasing list of retailers from online giants Amazon and Glasgow Community Interest Company Locavore to the V&A in Dundee.
“It’s been really positive, and now things are getting back to normal, more and more enquiries are coming in every day,” says Mann.
“The demand from consumers for plastic-free shopping is increasing. I believe that, in fact, lockdown has changed the way people think about the way they live their lives.”
She adds: “I spend a lot of time on local beaches – we do clean-up walks every Sunday – and it is incredible how much waste is washed up.
“It’s tragic to see the coastline affected in this way and it means a lot to me to have set up a business that is fighting back against plastic pollution.”
This autumn, Waxyz is working with the University of Glasgow to provide bespoke branded wraps for sale in campus shops.
“It is a very exciting development for us,” says Mann. “My vision for Waxyz is that it will become as much a part of our common culture as reusable coffee cups and refillable water bottles.
“It is a real opportunity to make a small change, which will make a big difference.”