Feeling sheepish? Startup's compostable wool padding reimagines e-commerce

17 Jul 2020 --- Sheep’s wool is entering the sustainable packaging sphere as a viable alternative to plastic and paper. The lightweight, shock-proof and compostable attributes of renewable wool make it particularly attractive to eco-centric consumers as an alternative to conventional bubble wrap. PackagingInsights speaks to Anna-Liisa Palatu, CEO and Co-Founder of Woola, about the untapped potential of wool-based packaging in environmentally sustainable e-commerce applications.

“Woola offers packaging out of sheep’s wool that reduces the plastic waste of e-commerce. Sheep’s wool has many great qualities but it is currently an unused resource. We make packages that are just as shock proof as regular bubble wrap. However, our packages are sustainable since sheep wool is compostable,” Palatu details.

“We are focusing on e-commerce since that’s where the demand is the highest. E-commerce packaging is the best fit for our current product. Our envelopes and wool-based bubble wrap are shock proof. Wool has complimentary qualities, such as heat insulation and moisture locking capabilities, but that is not our current focus.”

Innova Market Insights pegged “Packing an e-Punch” as its third top packaging trend for 2020. The e-commerce sector has been rapidly developing in the past few years, but coronavirus-related quarantine requirements and the closures of public dining spaces have led to at-home consumers turning to e-tailers to access a myriad of products at their fingertips.

Wool-based packaging by Woola.“Our packages are mainly used by online stores to ship out products that require package filler materials. The demand among online stores is high since there is a strong push towards sustainability among end users. Not being able to offer sustainable packaging is starting to affect sales directly. So, online stores have a high interest towards sustainable shock-proof packaging,” Palatu highlights.

Woola underscores this untapped packaging resource within the livestock industry, noting that 90 percent of sheep wool goes to waste. “The majority of sheep wool is thrown away across Europe since its quality is not high enough for yarn production.” In particular, Estonia disposes of 153 metric tons of sheep wool every year. It is temperature and humidity resistant, enhancing its viabling for packaging.

Recognition in the sustain domain
This month, EIT InnoEnergy, the European innovation engine for sustainable energy, crowned Woola the winner of PowerUp! The startup was awarded a €50,000 (US$57,000) cash prize and a place on its investment program.

“We are thrilled to have taken part in this competition and to have won support from EIT InnoEnergy that not only provides financial investment, but also supports us with business development through its network. We are very excited to collaborate with EIT InnoEnergy on our solution and bring more eco-friendly packaging to market to protect the environment,” Palatu comments.

Last May, Woola’s unique solution was selected as one of the 50 finalists at the TechChill startup convention, winning the category of “GreenTech.” The company was awarded with a €10,000 (US$11,400) non-equity cash prize from Techchill, as well as fast-track to the Startup World Cup finals in San Francisco, US.

Woola was also recognized among the top ten finalists of Climathon, a collective “hackathon” that took place in various cities across the world last October. Over 6,500 participants took part in hacking climate solutions. The top ten startups were selected to take part in the Climathon Global Awards finals in the ChangeNOW summit. 

“We are currently in the product development phase. We will start production in December 2020. At first we will validate the product in Estonia and continue our expansions to other European markets after that,” envisions Palatu.

By Benjamin Ferrer