Monday Morning MUG’ing: Say goodbye to cling wrap (6 photos)

THUNDER BAY - When Tara Bravinder’s three children expressed an interest in starting a business of their own, she embraced the educational opportunity and shepherded them through the brainstorm sessions. Ideas such as making and selling T-shirts and jewelry floated around, but it didn’t feel quite right. “I wanted to do something that wasn’t going to be wasteful,” Bravinder explains. “Then I saw these food wraps and thought this was something we could all work on together as a family, we tried it, and it just took off!”

The “Three Huggers” are Isabella (10), Matteus (8) and Eli (5). Their father Derek suggested the name, and it stuck.

They started selling their wares on the website Etsy last year in April, and eventually they started participating in Christmas markets in town. Currently, their food wraps are sold at the Thunder Bay Country Market here in town, and seven retail stores in Manitoba and British Columbia.

Making the food wraps is a whole-family project, but it’s “pretty easy,” according to Isabella. “First you melt the beeswax and add the pine resin and jojoba oil and melt it all together, and we just roll it onto the fabric.” The wax is heat-infused into the cotton, making it stiff when cool. Isabella and her mother love picking out the colourful fabrics, while the boys like to pound away at the 30lb. blocks of beeswax to break it into smaller pieces for melting. The beeswax comes from a honey farm in Saskatchewan.

The wraps can be washed with cold water and reused for months. Because they soften with the warmth of your hands and conform to any shape, they are great for partially used fruits and vegetables, sandwiches and baked goods, and even for covering bowls and jars. Putting meat in direct contact is not recommended, since you cannot wash the wraps with hot water, which could melt the wax off.

“This reduces waste, instead of adding to it,” Tara explains. Even with frequent use, the wraps can last for months, and it can also be refreshed by putting in the oven (on a piece of parchment) at 175 degrees F for a minute or two until the surface is smooth again. When it is finally ready to be laid to rest, it can go in the compost - it is completely biodegradable.

The feedback from customers has been very positive, Tara says. “We were even surprised by how excited people were about these. I think it’s the right time - people are looking for (environmentally-friendly) stuff like this.”