Beeswax wraps are a great way to eliminate or limit plastic use in the kitchen. They make great bowl covers and can even replace ziplock bags! We have some premade in our Kitchen section of the Co-op and at the end of this blog, you can learn how to refresh them and keep them usable!

Wash your wraps with cold water. Using soap and a sponge will cause them to deteriorate faster, so only use if necessary. Often times, rinsing your wrap is enough! Do not use hot water or a scrub brush, it will cause the wax to come off the cloth.

Materials:

• Cotton fabric
• Beeswax pellets or block
  

Three methods:

1. Oven and Cookie sheet 
2. Paintbrush and Pot or Crockpot
3. Parchment Paper and Iron

Cut your fabric into various sizes; 6” X 6”, 8” X 8”, or any special sizes you may need, I have a special 12” X 16” wrap for my 9” X 13” pyrex dish.

Oven and Cookie Sheet method

1. If you are using a block, use a cheese grater or knife to finely chop
2. Preheat oven to 300F
3. Place a wrap or two, however many will fit without touching on your sheet and sprinkle some of the beeswax pellets on top. (see photo)
4. Place in the oven for 30-50 seconds, until the pellets have all melted then remove from the oven. 
5. Do not let the wraps cool on the pan. Carefully pick them up by the corners and place on a cooling rack (cookie cooking rack or collapsable clothes rack workes well).
6. Once cooled (which only takes about a minute!) inspect to see if you added enough wax. The wrap should be coated lightly on both sides, with no bare spots.
7. I think it is helpful to crumple them in a ball a few times and flatten back out before first use. 

Paint Brush and Pot method

Beeswax cools very quickly, this method does not work well in the winter! The wax cools too quickly on the brush. Do this method in a warm place.

1. Place the pellets or block in a double boil pot set up or a crockpot. 
2. Once melted, use a paintbrush to lightly coat both sides of the wrap. 
3. Once cooled (which only takes about a minute!) inspect to see if you added enough wax. The wrap should be coated lightly on both sides, with no bare spots.
4. I think it is helpful to crumple them in a ball a few times and flatten back out before first use. 

Parchment Paper and Iron method

1. If you are using a block, use a cheese grater or knife to finely chop
2. Place a piece of fabric on a piece of parchment paper, sprinkle some pellets on top and then top with another piece of parchment. 
3. Iron on low for 15-20 seconds or until all the pellets have melted.
4. Let them cool for a few seconds then place on a cooling rack (cookie cooking rack or collapsable clothes rack workes well).
5. Once cooled (which only takes about a minute!) inspect to see if you added enough wax. The wrap should be coated lightly on both sides, with no bare spots.
6. I think it is helpful to crumple them in a ball a few times and flatten back out before first use. 

How to Keep your (handmade or store-bought) wraps coated and sticky!

After a while, your wrap will gradually become less stick and have less beeswax coating. You can simply recoat it! The oven or parchment paper and iron methods work the best for re-coating!

Written by Madison Suoja, Education and Outreach Specialist

Types of Green Washing

Green by Association

A company slathers itself in environmental terms and images so that the product seems to have environmental benefits. Products will use neutral colors or images of greenery, but in no way trying to improve their product.

Lack of Definition

A product advertises an environmental claim that sounds good but is too vague or general. Look out for terms like “green” “environmentally-friendly” “sustainable” without any explanation or certifications clearly displayed.

A common lack of definition you will see is the “Please recycle” symbol with no number associated. Shelf-stable liquid cartons, juices boxes, tetra packs, etc. are not recyclable in Davis. These packages are made of paper, plastic, and foil that need to be separated(using a lot of water!) in order to recycle. The materials in the cartons are also not likely to be used in the same process, instead, it is “down-cycled”. The plastic can be made into benches or rigid plastic plates that are not able to be recycled again.

Huggies: Pure & Natural

This line of Huggies is covered with green leaves and neutral tones. These diapers are made with organic cotton, aloe, and are hypoallergenic. However, there are still disposable diapers made with plastics in the fabric. These are landfill items and in no way benefit the environment or even coexist with it.

Unproven Claims

When environmental claims are made but the company will not or refuses to back them up.

Forgetting the Life cycle

Choosing one aspect of the product’s environmental life cycle/profile while ignoring significant effects that are not environmentally friendly. Reusable products are great, but if they are made out of silicone, they are not recyclable in Davis and are difficult to recycle if your county accepts them! Think of what will happen to your item once it tears or breaks? Can it be fixed? Can it be recycled or composted? If not, then it is not a truly sustainable product. The packaging is a big one for this type of greenwashing! Is your sustainable product packaged in filmy plastics? Does the company truly rally for environmental responsibility if their “sustainable” product is packaged in landfill materials?

Arrowhead Water

These disposable water bottles are made with smaller caps, which means less plastic. This is not lying but is not “being green”. This is still a disposable water bottle and this is not going to get recycled in most counties in the USA and all over the world.

Bait and switch

When a company heavily advertises environmentally friendly attributes of one of their products while bulk manufacturing other products that are harmful to the environment.  

Tom’s is owned by Colgate

Although Tom’s of Maine brand is very transparent about ingredients, many of their products are not commonly recyclable. They have a program through TerraCycle, where you can send in your old tube and deodorant sticks. However, there currently is no available space in their program to start your own collection and this program is a financial barrier for many since you are required to mail in a large box and pay the postage. Colgate has no information on their website about their environmental efforts and it is estimated that 400 million toothpaste tubes are discarded every year in the United States alone. That is a lot of unnecessary landfill.

Burt’s Bees and Green Works are owned by Clorox Bleach

Similar to Tom’s, Burt’s Bees packaging is recyclable through TerraCycle which may be a financial barrier for some. The environmental effects of bleach are controversial, better to be safe than sorry! Choose a product you know is safe for your health and the environment.

Green Works is a tough one! The product is safe and ingredients are transparent. There is information on the product on how to successfully recycle. However, at the end of the day purchasing this product supports Clorox Bleach and is therefore still green-washed.

Rallying Behind a Lower Standard

When a product earns a third-party certification that validates them but the trade association has influenced the development of the relevant standards or actively lobbies against them. Avoid the Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade USA certifications, unless paired with other certifications. These certifications have gaps in their requirements that allow only one step in the process to be fair.

Outright Lying

Companies will bend the truth to sound better. For example, referring to palm oil as vegetable oil to avoid the unsustainable relationship.

Unfortunately, less than seven percent of the total production of palm oil is certified as sustainable, as most companies refuse or are unable to pay the cost associated with less-destructive farming practices. When purchasing an item that contains palm oil or palm tree derived ingredients be sure it has the Palm Done Right certification.

Questions to ask yourself and tips before purchasing a product

• Don’t just assume something is truly natural because there’s a pretty sticker on the front label that claims so.
• Ask questions! Be skeptical! Who owns this company? Is it a big corporation? Where do they source their ingredients? Are the ingredients hard to find?
• Get familiar with companies, labels, and ingredients that you trust.
• Support smaller, independent, or local brands as much as possible.