All the while more people were discovering the joy of popping those air-filled pockets (even Stephens admits to being a “stress-relief popper”). The product evolved into different shapes, sizes, strengths and thicknesses for expanded uses: big and little bubbles, wide and short sheets, large and short rolls. Sealed Air began to grow as Bubble Wrap caught on.
Plus, it really didn’t offer that much protection. It was messy since ink from the old newspapers often rubbed off on the product and those handling it. Previously, the best way to protect an item during shipping was to surround it with balled up newsprint. Small packaging companies quickly embraced the new technology. That opened the door for a lot of other businesses to start using Bubble Wrap.” “They could ship their computers without damage. “It was the answer to IBM’s problems,” says Chad Stephens, vice president of innovation and development for Sealed Air’s Product Care Division. IBM had recently introduced the 1401 unit-considered the Model-T of the computer industry-and needed a way of protecting the delicate device during transit. It wasn’t until they decided the next year to use it as packaging material that they found success. To continue developing their unusual product, which was branded Bubble Wrap, Fielding and Chavannes founded Sealed Air Corp. "Method for Making Laminated Cushioning Material," patented July 28, 1964 The product was actually tested in greenhouses, but it proved ineffective. One-greenhouse insulation-made it off the drawing board, but ultimately was about as successful as textured wallpaper. They were granted the first of several patents for the process and equipment of embossing and laminating materials, then started thinking of uses: more than 400, in fact. However, the inventors did not totally dismiss their failure.
They put two pieces of plastic shower curtain through a heat-sealing machine but were disappointed-at first-by the results: a sheet of film with trapped air bubbles. They were trying to create a textured wallpaper in 1957 that would appeal to the burgeoning Beat generation. The bubbles were a lot bigger then, so they made a loud noise.”įielding’s father Alfred was co-inventor of Bubble Wrap with his business partner Marc Chavannes, a Swiss chemist. He adds with a chuckle, “They were really fun to pop. The adults at my father’s firm likely did so for quality assurance. “I say I’m the first person to pop Bubble Wrap, but I’m sure it’s not true.
“I remember looking at the stuff and my instinct was to squeeze it,” Fielding says. The invention revolutionized the shipping industry and made the e-commerce era possible, protecting billions of products shipped worldwide each year. As he fingered the funny-feeling film, he couldn’t resist the temptation: he started popping the bubbles-just like much of the rest of the world has been doing ever since.Īnd so Fielding, who was about 5 years old at the time, became the very first person-for fun-to pop Bubble Wrap. In his hands was a plastic sheet with air-filled bumps across it. When a very young Howard Fielding carefully cradled his father’s unusual invention, he had no idea that his next action would make him a trendsetter.
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