We know that trying out a sustainable product that you’ve never used before can be intimidating. You don’t want to buy a product that you never end up using. You also don’t want to buy a product that doesn’t actually do a great job. And it’s hard to buy a product that’s more expensive than the product you normally buy. Especially when you’re harboring these functionality doubts.
Listen, we get it. Sustainable switches feel intimidating and at times, are expensive. Doubts like these are likely one of the main reasons more people haven’t switched to products like our Bee’s Wrap Beeswax.
We’re here to help if you’re on the fence when it comes to purchasing beeswax. We’ve created the ultimate pros and cons list to help you determine if this is a good sustainable switch for you. We’ll share an honest list of pros and cons for our beeswax. Then, we’ll examine what it takes to break even from a price standpoint compared to the cost of plastic wrap. By the end, you’ll likely have arrived at a decision if plastic wrap or beeswax wrap is right for you.
Our Pros for Using Beeswax Wrap Instead of Plastic Wrap
If you’ve never held a beeswax wrap in your hands before, it’s slightly sticky to the touch, but in a good way. It has an earthy, natural smell. It’s always a little pliable, but more so when it’s warmer. It gently wraps around containers and foods, kind of like a firm hug. Here are some of our favorite reasons to switch from plastic wrap to beeswax wraps.
Beeswax Wraps Eliminate a Single-Use Item from Your Home
Have you ever tried to save your plastic wrap after using it? Have you ever tried to wash your used plastic wrap? Yeah, us either. It sounds like a nightmare. Plastic wrap, at its absolute best, is a single-use product. But let’s be honest sometimes it doesn’t even get to the first use before it balls up and is impossible to use.
You may not think a little bit of plastic wrap is a big deal. However, one study found over six months that 80 million Americans used at least one roll of plastic wrap. Another 5 million Americans managed to use a total of 10 million plastic wraps (they used far more rolls in the time frame than the previous group.) The average roll of plastic wrap is 75 feet. With 90 million rolls of plastic wrap produced by 85 million Americans, we send 6.75 billion feet of single-use plastic to landfills… every six months.
Beeswax wraps last for up to one year. If all of the Americans mentioned above used beeswax wraps instead of plastic wrap, by the end of the year they would’ve diverted 13.5 billion feet of plastic wrap from landfills.
Beeswax Wrap is Made of Compostable Ingredients
Our Bees Wrap is made of four simple ingredients: beeswax, organic cotton, organic jojoba oil, and organic tree resin. These natural ingredients won’t harm you or the environment. In fact beeswax wraps are compostable or can be used to start fires. Whereas plastic wrap is difficult to recycle, releases a toxic chemical called dioxin, and is often eaten by, and then kills, fish.
Easy to Care For
Beeswax wraps are easy to care for and require minimal upkeep. When needed, wash the wrap with a gentle soap and cool water. When you’re done, let it air dry. Once dry, it’s ready to be used again.
Beeswax Wraps are Fun
To mold your beeswax wrap around the item you’re trying to store, wrap the wrap up with the heat from your hands. This will make the wrap moldable. Press the wrap to the item, hold, and release to create a seal.
Now, let’s be honest with each other. Who doesn’t feel a little bit like an X-Men or an earth bender when they get to basically melt two things together with the heat from their hands?
The Cons of Using Beeswax Wrap Instead of Plastic Wrap
This is the part where you might be thinking, alright well what’s the catch? If they’re so amazing, why hasn’t everyone gone out and bought beeswax wraps already? There is a list of cons that we’ve curated to help you make an honest decision. This article should ensure you end up with no sustainable swap regrets.
Beeswax Wraps Can Stain
If you live in a pristine house where you can’t handle a stain on your reusable products, you may have a hard time with beeswax wraps. Not all items will stain beeswax. But, you’ll want to be selective with what vibrant and sticky foods you wrap in beeswax vs. plastic wrap. This will help ensure your beeswax stays stain-free.
The Wraps Can Melt in Hot Water
If you only do your dishes in steamy hot water, and refuse to wash anything in cold water, beeswax wraps will be a bad fit for you. Hot water can melt the wraps or make the wrap gritty.
Not Recommended for Freezer Use
If you only use plastic wrap to wrap things for your freezer, beeswax wraps might not be the right choice for you. Bees Wraps are not intended for freezer use.
A Difficult Product for People with Cold Hands
Beeswax wraps use the heat from your hands to stick to containers and food. If your hands are perpetually cold, this product might be frustrating or difficult for you to use.
Not Intended for Raw Meat
If you exclusively use your plastic wrap for wrapping raw meat, this is likely not the right product for you. It’s not recommended that you reuse a wrap that’s held raw meat in it. One option, however, is putting meat in a container or bowl that you could cover with beeswax wrap, keeping it from touching the meat.
Mixed Reviews When it Comes to a Hard Seal
Some people have made comments that it can be difficult to get a hard seal with beeswax wrap. Others, however, haven’t mentioned any issue with it or have suggested that the beeswax wraps seal is great.
Bees Wraps Can Feel Like an Expensive Investment.
One of our Bees Wrap beeswax wraps costs $6.99. Our three pack is $18.99. When you’re accustomed to paying $3 - $5 for plastic wrap, this cost can come as a sticker shock. While in the moment you’re purchasing the wax wraps it may feel more expensive. But we did the math, and the investment up front can actually save you money.
The Real Cost of Beeswax Wraps Compared to Plastic Wrap
Plastic wrap costs between $3 to $5. Most Americans use one to six rolls of plastic wrap a year. We did the math to find the tipping point to come out even or even save some money.
If you’re one of the American’s who uses more expensive plastic wrap and buys four rolls of plastic wrap or more a year, you actually come out $1 ahead by purchasing beeswax.
If you’re someone who buys less expensive plastic wrap and buys more than seven rolls a year, you will also come out ahead by investing in beeswax wrap.
While buying beeswax wraps isn’t entirely about cost for most people, there are break-even points that are worth considering. If you regularly use plastic wrap and are looking for an eco-friendly alternative, you could end up saving money.
Beeswax Wrap Vegan Options
If you’re a vegan who wants to find a sustainable solution to single-use plastic but doesn’t want to use a product that includes animal products, check out our Vegan Food Wrap. This three pack of wraps is made of organic cotton cloth, organic coconut oil, tree resin, and plant-based wax. All the cons for our beeswax wraps also apply to our vegan wraps!
The Best Beeswax Wrap: Bees Wrap
You need to wrap the top of a bowl containing a nice salad that you’re taking to a party. The salad didn’t take a lot to prepare, but you picked this item from the sign-up sheet because you knew you wouldn’t have time to cook anything crazy. Today was busy. In fact, you’re late and trying to get out the door.
You pull your plastic wrap out from it’s drawer and set it on the counter. You pull out some wrap to cover the bowl with. It folds over and gets a crease. “Should be fine,” you think, but then you go to tear it, and the struggle begins.
You wack the plastic wrap as close as you can to the jagged metal teeth on the box. It tears partially but most of it just stretches. So you wack again, and again. Until you knock the box off the counter and the plastic wrap rolls across your kitchen floor. Each rotation picks up little specks of dust, dirt, and dog hair along the way.
You sigh. You grab your scissors and the roll off the floor. You cut and then throw away the unrolled plastic wrap. You try again with scissors to cut off an appropriate amount of plastic wrap. The scissors work a little better, but not a lot.
This isn’t an experience you’ll ever have with beeswax wraps, but don’t just take our word for it. Epicurious tested six beeswax wraps and found Bees Wrap to be the best. In their findings, they found Bees Wrap to be, “the perfect amount of sticky”. Also known as, not so sticky or impossible to tear that it makes wrapping a salad a pain.
If you’re ready to leave behind your plastic wrap battle royal days and remove some single use plastic from your life, check out our Bees Wrap beeswax wraps. We’ve got a perfect fit for you, and your future party salads.
