Plastic wrap is a mess. It gets used for a few hours or days to cover leftovers, then gets tossed in a landfill where it sits for at least 25 years before decomposing, leaving chemicals behind. Then there’s the effect cling wrap has on people: The chemical Bisphenol A, prevalent in plastic wraps, has been linked to breast and prostate cancer and early sexual development.
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Not exactly worth the convenience of not having to look for a matching Tupperware lid, right? Eco-friendly solutions have become popular in the green-living community, including the overnight success of Bee’s Wrap, a startup begun in 2012 as a sustainable, healthier alternative to kitchen plastics.
The reusable wrap is made with organic cotton with beeswax, organic jojoba oil, and tree resin and can last up to a year with “proper care” that includes rinsing the wrap in cool water with a mild dish soap before air-drying and folding in a drawer or basket on the counter. The only problem? Bee’s Wrap starts at $6 for a little piece barely big enough to wrap an avocado. So the folks over at Apartment Therapy wanted to see how easy it is to make your own. Here’s how they did it.
Pinking shears (to cut the fabric so it won't fray)
Parchment paper
Baking sheet
Brush of some sort (optional)
Get baked.
Pre-heat the oven to its lowest setting (200 degrees Fahrenheit or less).
Using pinking shears, cut your fabric into the shapes you want. Standard sizes are 8” x 8” and 11” x 11” squares. Most important thing here is that they’re big enough to go around the food items you’d like to preserve. If you have a tendency to throw plastic wrap over bigger dishes like trays of lasagna, plan accordingly with bigger pieces.
Cover the baking sheet with parchment paper (foil-backed parchment paper works great), lay your fabric down, and sprinkle the fabric with the beeswax beads.
Put it in the oven and let it melt for 5-10 minutes.
Once it looks like all the wax has melted, use the brush to sweep the wax around and ensure all edges and corners have been saturated.
Peel the fabric up, wave it around in the air for a few seconds for the wax to harden (be mildly careful, although it shouldn't burn you), and then hang it over the back of a chair or something to wait for it to fully dry.
Repeat! If you have multiple baking sheets, you can do several (or all) of your fabric squares at once.
