Town Haul Rewind: Stacia Jensen, Founder of LilyBee Wrap
A unique single-use plastic alternative, B Corp Lilybee Wrap is an easy way to reduce waste in your own home.
In this Town Haul Rewind, host Amy Koonin Taylor is joined from New Zealand by LilyBee Wrap Founder Stacia Jensen to break down the LilyBee Wrap origin story and celebrate the brand’s environmental impact.
On what makes beeswax a great single-use plastic alternative:
STACIA JENSEN: “So, the best way I have heard it described is that cheesemongers actually really love it because there’s something about it that seals in freshness, but it’s still a living environment. So, instead of it being really sterile, like a plastic, it is still permeable. There’s a bit of a natural flow in and out yet [it] still seals in freshness. I know that sounds a little bit odd, but that’s essentially what nature does with beeswax. We add in a few other ingredients to make it more pliable. So, if you use just beeswax on cotton, I encourage people if they want to make their own to do that. Just know it’s not going to work quite as well. It’s going to crack sooner, and it’ll wear out faster.”
On how her beeswax product inspires more eco-friendly lifestyle change:
STACIA JENSEN: “So, we started in a one-bedroom cottage. I was pregnant and doing all the production, all the everything. Year two, we decided to focus more on the international markets [such as] the United States, just because that’s a natural extension for me. And we’ve now sold hundreds of thousands of wraps and estimate that our community now has helped save over 55 million meters of plastic going into the environment. Now that, for me, is a solid number. But what I think is the biggest victory, if you will, is that lifestyle change. I often say that we’re a gateway drug because part of what I wanted to do was be very inclusive. I didn’t want to be preachy. I didn’t want to say you’re zero waste or nothing at all. I’m not zero waste. I know that I’m constantly trying to make better choices, but having a newborn and a business, we had to make compromises. And I think most families can relate to that. So, I really didn’t care if you’re someone who eats fast food every day and decides this is something you want to try. We want to meet people where they are, and then that empowerment and knowing that they can do something that makes them feel good, often leads to other changes. So, that’s one of the big wins, I feel like, beyond just one, stopping single-use plastic.”
On how taking care of the community goes hand in hand with their B Corp certification:
STACIA JENSEN: “I just can’t imagine having a pantry and refrigerator full of food and knowing that somebody else is hungry, especially within your sphere. So, those are some of the things that I feel like, we can’t touch the whole world; but we can do things we can do within our environment. And that actually does make a difference, and that’s how I sleep at night. Knowing that there are much bigger problems that I can’t tackle, I try to tackle the ones that are nearest to us and that I can influence.”
On what success means to her:
STACIA JENSEN: “So, success is far beyond the financial sense for me. It’s really living my values and authenticity that continue when I say I act or when you act from that center point to live in a constant state of that self-knowing.”
Amy Koonin Taylor is Marketing Content and Media Manager at Rubicon. To stay ahead of Rubicon’s announcements of new partnerships and collaborations around the world, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, or contact us today.