Usually, a material called polyurethane foam is used in coolers. The problem with this is that the material is difficult to recycle, production involves harmful chemicals, and releases noxious gases during decomposition. Now, a startup called Wool Street has come up with a more eco-friendly design. A cooler that is wool insulated.
The Wooly Cooler measures 14.9 x 26.6 inches along its sides and 13.7 inches in height. Recyclable stainless steel and aluminum are used to piece the cooler’s housing together.
The thing that makes Wooly stand out, besides using steel and aluminum instead of hard plastics, is what they use as insulation. Instead of using polyurethane or disposable styrofoam (which is even worse), they turned to a greener material – 100% natural sheep’s wool. According to the company, cooling tests show that wool material has an insulation performance like polyurethane. Wool is also capable of retaining ice for three days.
Not only is the Wooly Cooler sustainable, it includes features like a drainage hole that accepts standard US garden hoses to empty the melted ice, as well as a removable tray attachment that sits inside and keeps things like salad or sandwiches away from the moist.
If you are interested, the Wooly Cooler is now a subject of a Kickstarter campaign. For $200, you will be in line for one when shipping starts in March 2022 if everything goes according to plan.
Picture: Wool Street via New Atlas
