Reusable pallet wraps limit plastic pollution

The strong wraps help businesses cut down on waste and costs

Spotted: Plastic waste is an issue across virtually every industry, not least in food and drink. Beyond how an individual product is packaged, as these items are moved around, they also need to be secured together and protected against the elements, which normally involves metres of plastic pallet wrap. Now, Bearhug is doing things differently, with reusable alternatives.

The Aussie startup was founded by Tom Field who, as a truck driver of five years, was extremely frustrated by the amount of landfill-bound plastic he needed to use in the role. “[I] used more plastic in a day than I would from a month’s shopping,” Field told Springwise. By contrast, Bearhug’s durable, breathable, and reusable pallet wraps can be used 1,000 times.

According to the company, just one Bearhug wrap can prevent 350 kilogrammes of plastic wrap waste from being generated, with greenhouse gas reductions evident from just 19 reuses. And, as well as being beneficial for the environment, the reusable alternatives can also help companies save substantially on packaging costs in the long term. Plus, because a Bearhug wrap only needs to be wrapped around once, it also saves the time that’s typically spent wrapping plastic around shipments multiple times.

To help encourage more widespread adoption of its solution, Bearhug offers a subscription system that allows businesses to send these wraps to others in their supply chain without bearing the risk of loss or damage. Bearhug owns all wraps under this model, and collects the packaging afterwards.

Bearhug was only founded in 2023 but has already made impressive progress. “As we develop automated systems for applying reusable wraps, bigger and bigger businesses are coming onboard,” Field told Springwise. “We’re now hoping to expand our offering to the international market to any company willing to embrace change.”

Written By: Matilda Cox