Take a moment and look around your kitchen. What are all the tricks you use to keep your food fresh? Chances are, you’ve got more going on here than you might initially think. Big and small, we try them all: the freezer, the fridge, containers of all kinds, tins, bags, foils, and wraps. But what’s the real-world impact of using all these products?

A moment on your dish, but a lifetime in a landfill?

Some food storage are well worth their footprint, like the fridge: an energy-efficient model can keep oodles of food fresh for varying lengths of time, without using lots of unnecessary electricity. Other products, like disposable or single-use bags and plastic wrap, were designed with convenience in mind rather than environmental friendliness. When your plastic wrap has served its purpose, its destination is the garbage bin. Throwing away one piece of plastic wrap doesn’t seem like a big deal...it’s just one piece, isn’t it? The unfortunate reality is that it’s more of a “big deal” than many of us think, and only in recent decades have scientists begun to sound the alarm over our plastic consumption.

Try to imagine what our trash looks like at scale. Even one piece of plastic wrap--one piece per person, one piece per day, one piece per person per day--has the potential to add up, quickly. Once in a landfill, it can take hundreds of years for plastic trash to decompose, and can leach harmful chemicals into the soil and groundwater in the process. When plastic ends up in the oceans, it often ends up in our food supply, consumed by sea creatures we later eat as the plastic breaks down into smaller and smaller particles. Since we use and discard plastic products much more rapidly than they break down, plastic, as it turns out, is a big problem.

A True Alternative

Don’t despair. At Z Wraps, we’re not here to judge or shame anyone for their plastic consumption. Disposable plastic food storage products have long been marketed as the go-to solution, and without real and visible competition in the market, plastic’s popularity is no surprise! But now that we know that humans have a problem to solve in how much waste they generate, we are starting to see choices and alternatives to plastic. That’s what Z Wraps are: they’re a hug for your heart and the Earth, and a beautiful, sustainable alternative to plastic wrap! You can feel good about reducing your personal, direct impact on the environment.

That’s what Z Wraps are: they’re a hug for your heart and the Earth, and a beautiful, sustainable alternative to plastic wrap!

What’s In a Z Wrap

Every Z Wrap is made with 4 simple and sustainable ingredients: a sturdy cotton cloth in one of our signature prints, infused with organic beeswax, organic jojoba oil, and tree resin. Since your Z Wrap is designed to be functional first and foremost, each ingredient serves a specific purpose. Cotton cloth for durability, beeswax for its antimicrobial and sealing abilities, jojoba oil to emulsify everything together, and tree resin for a ready-to-stick surface that stays sticky- up to 100 washes or more! Yes: one Z Wrap can replace over 100 pieces of plastic that would otherwise end up in the trash. We source organic beeswax, because while our focus is sustainable food storage, we know sustainability needs to be factored through the entire supply chain.

Want to learn how to Z Wrap like a pro? Check out our FAQ!

What can you do with your Z Wrap?

How about a picnic? Sandwiches, bagels, pancakes and fruit all wrap great! Loose nuts, trail mix, seeds or berries can go in a Z Wrap, just make a pouch and seal the Z Wrap to itself. Skip the sandwich baggie and wrap your lunch in a Z Wrap instead! Cover the dish of leftovers from supper with a Z Wrap before placing them in the fridge. Extra ingredient? Use its original container and a Z Wrap to keep the unused portion for later. Cheese, half a lemon or lime, half an onion, spring onions, herbs, and lots of other produce is perfect for a Z Wrap. Your Z Wrap is washable: a PB&J won’t stop you from using a wrap. An extra large Z Wrap can wrap a baguette or a large dish, and it also makes a great bag for enough un-dressed salad greens for a great work lunch. On the go snacker? A handful of loose anythings--pretzels, chips, cookies, salty, savory, sweet--go along great for whatever ride in a DIY Z Wrap “bag”.