Growing up on a farm in rural New Zealand, Leonie Prater was taught a deep respect for the environment. Her family encouraged a waste-free lifestyle, always composting food scraps and finding innovative ways to avoid disposable packaging.
It’s this passion for the environment that inspired her to launch Humblee Eco in 2018, the sustainable brand producing beeswax wraps and bags.
Getting down to bees-ness
From a young age, Leonie recognised a need to reduce plastic waste in Australia.
“Most Aussies throw plastic into the landfill and don’t think about where it goes. But plastic never disappears, it just breaks down into tiny fragments called microplastics which end up in our food and waterways,” Leonie explains. “In fact, we all consume the equivalent of a credit card’s worth of microplastic each week.”
According to Harvard Medicine, consuming microplastics can result in inflammation, cell death, lung and liver impacts, changes in the gut microbiome and altered metabolism. These tiny plastic shards also cause severe damage to marine life by creating digestive blockages and stunting growth and reproduction, which disrupts the entire food chain.
Learning more about the impacts of microplastics, Leonie saw an urgent need to address Australia’s waste problem. “Australians discard one tonne of plastic waste every minute. If we stay complacent by continuing to use plastic, the future is going to look very bleak for our children,” she says. “This should be a wake up call for everyone. It certainly was for me.”
All the buzz
With a strong understanding of how plastic waste was destroying the environment, Leonie set out to find a greener alternative for wrapping and preserving food. She began experimenting with wax wrap recipes in her home kitchen.
“Coming up with a unique recipe took a long time, because I had to learn about the various ingredients and how they performed. I conducted endless experiments before I was finally satisfied with the result. In total, it took me around nine months.”
What resulted from Leonie’s perseverance was a range of beeswax wraps combining beeswax, damar tree resin and Jojoba, which she began selling at local markets. Everything about the process – from finding the ingredients to the final products – prioritised sustainability and quality.
“I source my beeswax from a local organic beekeeper,” Leonie explains. “The resin is called Damar, which is a high quality food grade resin that stands apart from the cheaper pine resin used by other companies which can cause allergic reactions.
“The bags are my design and made here in Adelaide. They are all compostable and leave no footprint. My packaging is also compostable, because I use cardboard boxes rather than plastic containers when transporting my products to markets.”
Leonie’s most popular products include bread bags printed with humorous puns, such as “all you knead is loaf” and “I’ve got a crust on you”. The beeswax wraps are also a top seller, with three sizes ideal for covering everything from cheese and crackers to larger bowls and even fruit and veggie items.
After the wraps have enjoyed a long life, customers can simply place them in the green waste and return them to the environment.
The sting of success
Of course, running a small business isn’t easy, and Leonie faces her fair share of challenges.
“Manufacturing in Australia is expensive. I try to source organic cotton fabric whenever possible, and find competent machinists at a reasonable cost. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult,” she says.
“The other big challenge is balancing work with personal and family time. Running a small business is hard, it requires a lot of time and patience, so it’s about making sure I look after myself too.”
It’s the response from Leonie’s customers that reminds her just how valuable her work is.
“I’ve met some amazing people who have encouraged and inspired me. To have a customer take the time to tell me about their experience using one of my beeswax bags or wraps and how much they love them, is the ultimate reward.”
A buzz worthy future
For Leonie, making a difference states with small changes. She highlights four simple steps that every Aussie can take to protect the environment.
- Reduce the amount of plastic you throw away. When you swap plastic wrap for beeswax wraps, your food will stay fresher for longer and you’ll save money. Choosing glass containers over disposable plastic ones is better for your food and your wallet, too.
- Support local farmers’ markets. When you purchase your fruit and veggies from local producers, you support their businesses while enjoying the freshest goods.
- Recycle supermarket containers. Keep the glass jars that come with jams and chutneys, clean them, and use them to store your own dry goods or homemade condiments.
- Keep your bread in beeswax bags. The loaf will stay fresher for longer, so you won’t end up throwing mouldy slices in the bin.
“With a little effort, we can bring about a more positive future for those following in our footsteps,” says Leonie. “I want my grandchildren to enjoy living in a safe and clean environment, where they’re not impacted by our complacency. And I know I’m not the only one who wants that, so I’m doing something about it.”
To read about No Pong, the Aussie-made deodorant disrupter, click here.