Check out this NZ Herald article featuring honeywrap

Want to know more about us and discover a few surprises? Read on...
Thanks to Organised Chaos (love that name!) http://organised-chaos.net/ 

Who is Honeywrap? 

We are Tara, Jo and Amy, three friends, mums and Occupational Therapists who started Honeywrap – the sweet little alternative to plastic wrap.  (We all now live in Auckland after many years abroad having fun and avoiding the reality of growing up; much recommended! )

How was Honeywrap born?

A school project and a midlife crisis prompted the beginnings of Honeywrap. I was ready for a career change and called a meeting with Jo and Amy to go through business ideas. The idea we all were immediately drawn to was a school project using beeswax covered fabric as an alternative to plastic foodwrap.

We have always tried to do our bit for the environment so it was exciting to find something that was easy to use, reduced waste, was functional and we all believed could make a difference. When we couldn’t find anywhere in NZ to buy them, we decided to make them ourselves. After months researching, testing, failing and many laughs, Honeywrap was born.

We love that they really do keep your food fresh and look cool. Honeywrap has started us all on a greener journey where we are all more mindful of what we do. We finally remember to take the reusable bags every time, think twice about automatically jumping in the car and generally buy less unnecessary ‘stuff!’ Still lots more we could do though.

Tell us something people don’t know about you… (we struggled with this!)

I can’t smell, so trust Amy and Tara that Honeywraps smell good….Joanna

I used to have a part-time job as a contortionist…Amy

I played rugby for nearly ten years… Tara

What’s next for Honeywrap?

Honeywrap has been such a massive learning curve for all of us.  We hope to use this to increase awareness of the impact plastic has on the environment and also to highlight the danger bees are in.

And finally we are all Occupational Therapists by trade – we hope in the future that we will be able to combine our passions and provide work and social opportunities for people with brain injuries. Watch this space.

Best organising tip?

We have two…

Organised chaos does sum up our workspace. I think my best tip for organising is deal with a piece of paper once I am a notorious paper shuffler though improving with this new mantra

and

don’t buy stuff  you don’t need!

This blog always seems to start with a comment on time passing quickly, it is now March. Crazy. School is coming to the end of the first term. Our boys are finally settling back in after a few weeks of tears and tantys.

Schools are doing a great job at encouraging their students to have waste free lunches and getting them to think about sustainability. They have awards for rubbish free lunches which is fantastic.  

http://sustainable.org.nz/sustainability-stories/honeywrap-natural-re-usable-food-wrap#.WIaafWR95QJ

Honeywrap is a natural NZ product that has been created to address the growing problem of waste from single use plastic. The aim is to increase awareness of the environmental impact of using disposable plastic to wrap food and provide alternatives.

Honeywrap is a reusable food wrap that keeps food fresh and is waste free. It combines New Zealand beeswax, New Zealand tree resin, jojoba oil and organic cotton to create an environmentally-friendly, sustainable and stylish food wrap. Currently sales equate to 22,500 metres of plastic wrap a week not being sent to landfill.

In addition, each pack contains bee-friendly wild flower seeds for customers to plant, thus providing a much needed food source for bees and raising awareness of the rapid decline of the bee population. Currently the team is looking to expand and grow its educational component into schools with fundraisers and workshops.

Honeywrap is a finalist in the 2015 NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards in the EcoPro Cleaning Co Community Innovation Award.

Woah we are in October already, hence the mad spring weather. September was a busy month with the National Bee Association launching Bee Aware month. This was a great success in getting the message out that we need bees for so much more than honey and they need our help.

We were proud to support Bee Aware month and to bring back seeds to our packaging. Planting the wild flower seeded paper provides a practical way we can help bees by providing a food source. 

Bee Aware month showed some amazing people doing great things to help bees. An inspiring event I went to a few months back was- Bee Jam. An event organised as part of POP.org.nz at the Artstation.

Positive people doing great things for bees and the community. Check out makethepark.info a public sculpture initiated by Artists Sarah Smuts-Kennedy and Taarati Taiaroa centred around beehives in Victoria park. The community is invited to make the park by building or photographing existing pollen hotels' (food sources for bees), then plotting them on the interactive map. This was to help sustain the bees over the winter months. And as an added bonus when the honey is harvested it will be made available to the people that helped build the park! Very cool.

It must almost be ready for harvest. After hearing from the speakers on this day about how bereft supermarket honey is of any nutritional value its definitely worth getting right from the source.

So we are nearly half way through plastic free July. I am finding it a lot harder than I thought. I am mostly remembering reusable shopping bags, but the takeaway coffee cups, straws, plastic wrappers on everything are killing it. I thought I would remind myself why plastic is so bad to help my resolve!

So what is the problem with plastic??  Here are a few of the key concerns, in very brief-

• There is so much of it. They are cheap versatile and used for everything, then often thrown out less than a year later.
• Plastic doesn't break down for a very long time. Hundreds of thousands of tons ends up in our waterways and oceans. 
• Millions of sea birds and marine creatures die as a direct result of either ingesting plastic or getting entangled in it.
• Plastic doesnt biodegrade. When it finally breaks down it is into tiny particles. Harmful chemicals then leach into the ground and waterways.
• Toxic chemicals used in plastic are having a harmful effect on our health. Common chemicals found in plastics have been linked to birth defects, child development disorders and cancers.
• Plastic is not sustainable. They are made from non-renewable natural resources such as crude oil, gas and coal. 

So what can we do about it??

Remember Plastic Free July, I will more now. Use our consumer power to force change. Yeah!

Use reusable bags, avoid products with lots of packaging, remember your keep cup for that coffee or better still sit in and read a mag with a coffee in a real cup. Ignorance is bliss but not an option we can take in the long term. Read Slow Death by Rubber Ducky: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie.

Though be warned you will not be able to go into a $2 shop again! Which is probably a good thing anyway!

References:

http://www.letsdoitworld.org/news/symptoms-our-plastic-age-what-s-really-so-bad-about-plastics

http://stephanemanos.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/travelling-green-why-is-plastic-so-bad/

Slow Death by Rubber Ducky: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things. By Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie.

SOUP:500+ created by Mandy Barker, UK represents over 500 pieces of plastic found in the stomach of a dead albatross chick

Hi,

Here we finally are- www.honeywrap.co.nz. The website is good to go which will make buying your honeywraps direct from us so much easier. Welcome!

Honeywrap has been, (and continues to be)  a journey of discovery and learning. For us one of the most interesting parts has been learning more about bees and what amazing fascinating creatures they are. It has also been quite frightening as we did not realize just how dire their situation is!

Bees are in rapid decline worldwide and they need our help. Bees give us so much more than just honey. About 1/3 of what we eat is dependent on bee pollination. Chocolate, coffee, strawberries, blueberries... basically all the good things would be no more! 

We are passionate about the environment and want to pass on a better world to our kids. Add your support to the petition link below to reduce neonicotinoids. These chemicals are a key cause of bee death throughout the world.

http://action.sumofus.org/a/home-depot-lowes-bees-neonicotinoids/  

Buy local, buy organic when you can, to reduce pesticide use!

Look out for future blogs with other info and tips to help save our bees and also little tidbits about looking after ourselves and our environment. 

In the mean time check out the link below to watch the trailer of 'More than Honey' a fascinating insight into the plight of bees!

http://vimeo.com/45684169