There are so many products we use every day and we never stop to think about where they came from or who invented them. Bubble wrap is one of those products. When you order your bubble wrapping from PaperMart.com and use it to cushion fragile items for shipping or storage, the last thing on your mind is the work that went into creating it. You’re just glad it exists to serve your needs. But you may be surprised to learn that bubble wrapping products have been around for more than fifty years at this point. And it almost didn’t become a product designed for packing and shipping. So who invented the bubble wrap you purchase from Paper Mart and how did it get to be a common consumer good?
Bubble Wrap: The Origins
Bubble wrap was first invented in 1957 by two engineers from New Jersey: Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes, and its original purpose was not to cushion fragile goods during shipping, as it is now widely used today. When Fielding and Chavannes first slapped two shower curtains together, creating air bubbles in between, their idea was to create a new type of décor. They originally tried to market their product as wallpaper. When it failed to garner attention as a home interior style trend, the two engineers reportedly attempted to market it as greenhouse insulation. Unfortunately, this idea did not take off, either.
But Fielding and Chavannes weren’t yet ready to give up on their bubble sheets, and they repurposed their product once again as a means of protecting delicate items. And in 1960 they finally saw some success when they nabbed their first major client: IBM. The computer company saw the value of using bubble wrapping to keep their computers safe and secure during shipping. And from there the product took off, the manufacturing process was refined (no more shower curtains haphazardly stuck together), and bubble wrap became a household item.
Bubble Wrap: Its Modern Use
Today, bubble wrap is not only used widely for packing and shipping consumer goods, but it has become a staple of the food shipping industry. And whether you use it when you send fragile items to family or friends or it’s part of your everyday business operations, you can definitely appreciate the fact that there is a product designed specifically to cushion and protect anything that might otherwise be easily broken or damaged when stored or shipped. Even though Fielding and Chavannes didn’t originally intend for their design to be used for this purpose, the good news is that they eventually figured it out, resulting in a useful product used in nearly every industry, as well as by the consumer public.
And thanks to their massive success, you now have access to an easy and affordable means of protecting any fragile items you want to store, ship, or move. Although you might not take the time to think about where your everyday products come from or how they came to fruition, you don’t necessarily need to know who invented bubble wrap to appreciate its many uses. As long as you understand that the air bubble wrapping products you purchase from Paper Mart can provide you with the protection you need to make sure your goods arrive safe and sound, knowing the names of the inventors of bubble wrap is secondary.
Paper Mart Bubble Wrap
Anti-Static Air Bubble Wrapping: 3/16″
Economy Air Bubble Wrapping: 3/16″ X 3/8″
Economy Air Bubble Wrapping: 1/2″ X 1-1/4″
Air Bubble Wrapping: 1/2″ X 1-1/4″
Air Bubble Wrapping: 3/16″ X 3/8″
Air Bubble Wrapping: 5/16″ X 1″
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