Estonian startup Woola claims a staggering 90% of European sheep wool goes to waste. They're talking about "The type of wool that is so coarse that it cannot be used to produce yarn for the textile industry and is therefore in most cases burned or buried," they write. But "Despite being rough it still has all the great qualities of wool."

Woola has figured out how to mate waste wool with paper to create protective packaging material. Specifically they've developed wool-padded mail envelopes...

...protective sleeves for glass bottles...

...and, most intriguingly, Bubble Wool, an alternative to plastic bubble wrap.

The Bubble Wool comes in 100cm x 130cm (39" x 51") sheets, which they say "protects goods from breaking and getting scratched as effectively as bubble wrap." It is water-repellent, reusable and, unlike the plastic stuff, truly sustainable.

You can request samples of all of their products at the individual links above. The samples are free, so don't be…sheepish.