Goldilocks Interview
Cheap, accessible, and readily available, plastic wrap has been dangerously intertwined into our kitchen routine for generations.
Thankfully, times are changing, and we can shift to more sustainable options that are not hazardous to our health and polluting our environment.
Meet Goldilocks and their beautiful approach to reducing single-use plastic and diminishing food waste at the same time! What caught my attention right away was their unique patterns and the curiosity about beeswax wraps and how this could help food stay fresh for longer without the leaching plastic. Luckily my co-worker and I had the chance to pick the brain of the "jelly" from the PB&J duo at Goldilocks head office – Brett Higson.
Catch our interview below to learn some crucial sustainable facts and how they began their journey.
What's the story behind Goldilocks?
Amy Hall (Founder) noticed a problem with excess plastic use even within her family hub. She would call her mom the "saran wrap queen" because she'd layer it six times over itself at any holiday event… kind of like a "plastic disaster."
When Amy was travelling through Australia, she came across beeswax wraps which sparked her idea to create them back home to see if family and friends liked the product. It was a hit, and her family encouraged her to create a business out of it and the rest is history.
Where did your journey begin with Goldilocks?
It's a funny "happening," I was moving out of my apartment in Victoria, BC, and Amy was moving in. We coincidentally met as my landlord made an unexpected visit with her. We got to talking about life back in Ontario because we are both from there. She mentioned her business plan, and I had just heard about a similar product the week prior, so we decided to meet for a beer, and it just went from there.
We decided to team up - where she had the passion and vision behind creating the product and solving the problem, I had the business sense for setting up finances, team building and operations. I'm also super passionate about food waste; and where Amy came in with reducing plastic, I have always been one to say, "you gonna eat that?" if someone has leftover food.
Once I learned about the beeswax wraps' food preservation aspects; I was sold!
What does sustainability mean to Goldilocks? How do you source your materials?
Breaking down the beeswax wraps and their ingredients:
- 100% natural cotton from South Korea, as we found that organic cotton is a tricky trade-off because the fabric would not last as long, and the price point would be hard to justify to our customers. It is the quickest fabric to biodegrade in comparison to hemp and bamboo.
- The beeswax used for our products is all BC local. We work mainly with Country Bee Honey Farm here on Vancouver Island and farms in the Surrey and Delta area.
- Our jojoba oil is from a supplier in Maine (USA) who sources it from a natural, organic co-op in Israel. Our supplier noticed the industrialization, nasty pesticides, and greenwashing of jojoba oil in the USA, so they started to work with a sustainable supplier further away from home.
- Damar rosin which helps make our wraps sticky. We chose this as it is the odour-less, flavour-less and the stickiest. This resin originates in Indonesia. Although we'd love to use a local product like pine resin, the trade-off was not as many people would appreciate the taste of pine resin in comparison.
Every manufacturer we work with is sustainable. We work extremely hard to ensure every dollar we spend is going towards an ethical source and that we are asking better questions to be conscious and thoughtful about whom we work with.
What is your favourite Goldilocks' product?
Amy made a beeswax wrap with a Volkswagen van print, and that is my all-time favourite!
What is the biggest hurdle you notice when trying to educate people on using Goldilocks' products vs non-green products?
Pricing is the one thing that's a constant battle for us. It's a shift – the world moving through industrialization and into mass production of fast, disposable products has caused them to reduce cost, especially if you're buying a thousand Ziploc sandwich bags or numerous rolls of plastic wrap. When you see the pricing on these fast products, yes, it will be hard to convince people to transition to our products that you can guarantee will only last a year.
But – it is really about educating people about the environment and how they consult with their dollars. There are massive environmental and health consequences when you use plastic every day.
One of the enormous benefits of our product is the food saving aspect. Our beeswax wraps create a second skin; it is porous and allows your food to breathe versus a plastic wrap that leaches into your food. I always tell people to try them for six months and keep an eye out for how much food they are saving from the trash.
We have been trained that the initial price is the only cost when taking the cheaper route. However, there are some hidden costs; the damage to our health and the environment are things we will have to pay for later down the road as a species.
How is Goldilocks' giving back?
- The "Pollinators Print": 1% of sales to the pollinator project, which helps sustain bee populations.
What's the most obscure use of Goldilocks wraps that you've heard about? Whether customer or staff stories?
These wraps are versatile, and they are used for various reasons around the office and home life of the Goldilocks crew:
- A funnel: "our office likes to fill beer growlers with soap from the zero-waste shop" beeswax wraps make the perfect little tool!
- Wine cork replacement: roll them up tightly and stick them in the top of a wine bottle to keep your wine fresh.
- Brett's personal favourite: to store tools and bits while working on his camper vans.
- Camping: the Goldilocks crew love to wrap the top of their toothbrushes or soaps.
- Loosening jar lids: opening those pesky pickle jars that are sealed tightly.
- Fire-starter: at the end of their life (1-2 years), the wax and cotton they are made from is ideal for igniting fires!
That’s a wrap!
Thanks for joining us for our first interview with one of our suppliers. We are excited to continue working with Goldilocks and offer their beautiful products on our site.
“Scientists also refer to the location of planet earth as the Goldilocks Zone, the perfect balance to foster life. Let's keep this planet beautiful together.” – Goldilocks Sustainable Goods
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~ Sophia B.
This interview has been lightly edited and all responses and opinions expressed in this interview belong to Brett Higson.
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