Bubble Wrap is here to stay

MANILA, Philippines – Sealed Air quelled netizens’ fears over news that it is eliminating its Bubble Wrap product – the plastic packaging material in sheets that has numerous small air cushions and designed to protect fragile goods.

New Jersey-based Sealed Air, the company that created the plastic packaging material in 1960, recently introduced a version called iBubble Wrap that does not pop, The Wall Street Journal reported on July 1.

The new design comes in sheets to allow more items to be stored and shipped at one time. Companies using the new product will inflate the sheets using a custom pump provided by Sealed Air.

But the news was greeted with mixed reactions, so on its Facebook page, Sealed Air clarified that the beloved Bubble Wrap is here to stay.

“We are thrilled to see the loyalty our iconic Bubble Wrap has built over the years. Rest assured, our beloved Bubble Wrap is not going away,” the Facebook post read.

It added that e-commerce has changed the way packages are shipped, and the new addition to the Bubble Wrap family is one of the company’s many solutions for e-commerce packaging.

“It will allow us to reach customers who may not have been able to use the original product due to geography, logistics, or other challenges,” it added.

Circular economy at work

The Facebook post also provided a link to a company blog by Jim Whaley, Sealed Air’s vice president for corporate communications, sustainability, and government affairs, who wrote in early May that Sealed Air has been thriving and innovating in a circular economy business model from the very beginning, as long as 60 years ago.

Circular economy is a business model that focuses on ensuring all resources used are remade, repaired, resold, or recycled in some form.

“A circular economy business strategy offers many advantages, not the least of which is offsetting rising raw material prices and reducing the amount of materials sent to landfills,” Whaley wrote.

Thus, the Bubble Wrap supports the company’s intention for the product to be recycled.

“Bubble Wrap supports products during distribution, and, due to its air retention, can be reused,” Whaley added.

“In addition to Bubble Wrap, 100% of our plastic packaging product is technically recyclable,” Whaley wrote.

The company extends such efforts to its operations.

“In 2014, we measured two-thirds of our manufacturing plants reached ‘zero landfill’ with plastic raw materials. Since 2006, we have diverted over 770 million pounds from landfills. One of those efforts, something we call ‘waste productivity,’ has increased as much as 43% since we started measuring in 2011,” Whaley wrote.

Thus, the Twitter team of the Bubble Wrap brand responded actively to ease netizens’ fear over losing the popping Bubble Wrap.

So pop lovers can stay calm for now and still look forward to the Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day on January 25, 2016. – Rappler.com

Bubble Wrap image from Shutterstock