Meet The Business: Naturally Wrapt
Sunday, May 17, 2020
It is that time of the week again where we meet the brains behind a business! I decided to mix it up a bit and invite Carolyn, who owns Naturally Wrapt! I love wrapping gifts, but here is a sustainable solution which cuts out a lot of the plastic we end up throwing away!
Naturally Wrapt is a UK based business, which creates eco-friendly alternatives for gift wrapping. They sell a range of paper tapes, twine, ribbon and gift wrap! Each product is affordable and high quality! I love the look of so many of their products and am excited to try their Star paper tape!
Could you tell me about yourself and your business?
Why did you decide to start an eco-friendly wrapping business?
I didn’t actually intend to! I’m a lover of animals, nature and the countryside. Like so many people, I’m increasingly concerned about our impact on the planet. Over Christmas (2018) it dawned on me that wrapping gifts is one thing we can do easily, without the aid of plastic!I set about searching for eco-friendly alternatives, but I discovered that researching products was time-consuming work and that products were few and far between. Delivery costs virtually equalled the cost of the product. It was not as easy to switch to a more environmentally sound lifestyle as I had imagined.
In January 2019, I decided I would create a website to make it easier for others to discover alternative, eco-friendly, options for wrapping. Before I knew it, Naturally Wrapt was born!
What makes your gift wrap and tapes special from others out there?
My aim is to inspire and enable people to change their wrapping habits easily by providing a selection of cool and reasonably priced, eco-friendly products on one site ... and with one delivery charge! My products are:- made from recycled paper or reused paper
- recyclable
- biodegradable (preferably compostable)
- manufactured/sourced in the UK wherever possible
- plastic free adhesive (see details for some tapes)
- foil/glitter free
- ‘naked’ (have minimal packaging) or reusing packaging where possible
- shipped 100% plastic-free using NW’s products and reused packaging
Please check individual item descriptions online.
Why should we go eco-friendly when it comes to wrapping?
A lot of plastic is used in wrapping presents and parcels. It is found in plastic sticky tape, plastics ribbons & bows, plastic-coated paper & cards, plastic confetti - the list goes on! Plastic can’t be easily recycled. It ends up in landfill sites, being incinerated or adding to plastic pollution in our oceans. It really doesn’t need to be this way. There are alternatives available. If you’re prepared to be bold, there are other ways to wrap presents so we can avoid another source of pollution and damage.
What is your favourite product out of all the range and why?
This is tricky! My favourite product is currently the Paper Stars tape because it is hands down the best product for anyone wanting a paper tape for wrapping. It’s a strong, easy to use, 18mm brown paper tape, and at 50m long it is going to last you a while! I also love that it has a natural rubber-based adhesive (yay!) and cool star design which works all year round. (I’m also proud because I designed it myself to fill a gap in the market for patterned, natural-based adhesive tape.)
What is your favourite part about working for yourself/at home?
That would have to be the variety. I am responsible for everything from wrapping and photographing the gifts you see on the website, to meeting new stockists in person. It’s an adventure and learning something new is exciting - especially when it is having a positive impact on the earth. Yay!
What challenges have you faced when setting up and running your business?
The biggest challenge is plastic. It is literally everywhere! Despite the classic rustic look, the jute ribbon available is invariably sewn with nearly invisible nylon thread. Although the paper tapes are made from natural rice paper, the adhesives can be acrylic. It is a minefield. Some manufacturers are slowly changing their ways, but I am constantly researching to find the best products available and swapping suppliers! Most of my products are plastic-free, but I have had to accept that sometimes going plastic-free involves taking steps. Plastic use must be gradually reduced. It is all a step in the right direction.
Is there anything you’re working towards or wanting to achieve?
Yes, I’m aiming to make wrapping with less plastic the norm. I hope the large stores and suppliers stop stocking plastic options, especially plastic bows. (apologies to ardent bow fans - is there a way to reuse the ones you have?)
I’m going to be working on this for a while!
If you could sum Naturally Wrapt in 5 words what would they be?
Life after sellotape is good!
Did you have anything else you would like to tell the world?
Yes! I want to put a good word in for Jute - it is soooooo super sustainable. Given the choice, choose Jute/hemp/hessian and burlap (or mixes) instead of cotton! Cotton requires much more fertiliser/pesticide and water to process! That’s all folks! Thank you, Emily!
You can find Carolyn & Naturally Wrapt on Social Media!
Thank you to Carolyn for this amazing interview. I hope it has inspired some of you to make the switch to eco-friendly alternatives! I think Naturally Wrapt is fantastic and I am excited to see future ranges! Do you love gift wrapping? Let me know if you use eco-friendly tape and where you get yours from!
10 comments
Hi there, Nice post on gift wrapping. We need to have eco friendly packaging and reusable stuff to wrap gifts as it protect our environment. I appreciate your approach to promote eco friendly wraps. In fact in a couple of my posts I have promoted on the benefits of raising eco-friendly kids and ways to do, pls chk this out-https://perspectiveofdeepti.blogspot.com/2015/09/way-to-make-kids-eco-friendly.html
ReplyDeleteThese are super cute and so good to have something more eco-friendly!
ReplyDeletewww.agirlwithview.co.uk
The paper tape sounds cool, obviously the environmental side, but also it just looks way better than using sellotape, it’s a win all round.
ReplyDeleteAdam - http://daddoesautism.com
Great post and what an awesome company selling ecological wrapping paper!
ReplyDeleteI love that you use your blog to promote small businesses, we need more of this!
This is such a good read and nice too learn about a company selling more eco friendly :) Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteThis is such a cool post! I think a lot of people forget how wasteful wrapping gifts is. I will definitely be looking into getting some stuff from Naturally Wrapt - thank you for sharing Em!
ReplyDeleteEm
planningwithem.com
I love these products. They are sustainable and so pretty. How cool!
ReplyDeleteI love discovering eco friendly and sustainable brands! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThese are such cute and awesome wraps, I absolutely love it!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know all that about jute, that's amazing. And that Paper Star tape is gorgeous, I've not seen anything like that before, I'll have to pop over to her shop for a browse. Great post, thank you for sharing :) Lisa
ReplyDelete