Woola bags €2.5M funding to replace plastic bubble wrap with sheep wool-based novel material

03 Jan 2024 --- Estonian company Woola has successfully raised €2.5 million (US$2.7 million) in a funding round led by Metaplanet. The company aims to replace plastic packaging with sustainable alternatives made from sheep wool, addressing environmental concerns with an underutilized resource.

Other investors include Future Ventures, Lemonade Stand and other new angel investors.

The company states that its mission is to cut 50% of global fossil fuel based bubble wrap usage by 2030.

According to statistics shared by the company, 141 million tons of plastic packaging is produced annually, with 14% being collected for recycling. Woola’s solution involves repurposing up to 200,000 tons of coarse sheep wool, currently discarded or burned, to create protective and sustainable packaging.

Founded in 2020, Woola initially focused on replacing bubble wrap in e-commerce. With the newly secured funding, the company is expanding its reach into the luxury goods market. Notably, two houses within the LVMH Group have already adopted Woola’s packaging, with a circular pilot program underway.

“We founded Woola to help stop the use of fossil fuels. We are replacing protective plastic packaging with sustainable alternatives made of wool that work just as well but look much better,” says Woola’s CEO and co-founder Anna-Liisa Palatu.

Woola states that its mission is to cut 50% of global fossil fuel based bubble wrap usage by 2030.“We are proud to be working with a group [LVMH] that, with its Maisons, is reinventing the packaging codes to ultimately ban fossil-based plastics.”

“Rescuing natural resources”
Metaplanet, led by Jaan Tallinn, one of Skype’s founding engineers, spearheaded the recent funding round. Notable for investments in SpaceX, DeepMind and Anthropic, Metaplanet sees Woola’s mission as an opportunity to make a positive impact on the environment.

“Beauty often lies in simplicity. Woola is rescuing a natural resource — sheep wool — from ending up in landfills and using it to help retailers, from e-commerce to the top companies in the world of aesthetics, reach their sustainability targets. All of this is done via a product innovation cycle and a quick feedback loop with the customers,” remarked Rauno Miljand, managing partner at Metaplanet.

Earlier this year, Woola also received the LVMH Innovation Award in the “Sustainability and Greentech” category, solidifying its position as a pioneering force in sustainable packaging.

Woola plans to utilize the new funds to expand its sales and marketing team, furthering its mission to provide sustainable packaging solutions and contribute to a more environmentally conscious future.

Edited by Radhika Sikaria