Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

It seems as though labels are everywhere. In an office, many items like White Out, hand lotion, and water bottles all have labels adorning the exterior of the package. At restaurants, one can’t help but notice the labels. They appear on bottles of almost every condiment: ketchup, mustard, Tabasco sauce, soy sauce, and even some salt and pepper shakers.

Where one can see a decent amount of labels is at the bar or at a social gathering. It is truly amazing what the “turnaround” time is on beverage labels. It’s not that long after seeing someone twist off a bottle cap that you can hear the clink of a bottle being chucked in the trash or, hopefully, a recycle bin. As with most food and beverages, the label serves its purpose for a brief time, and once the consumer enjoys the goodies inside, the package meets its thrown-away fate. With the abundance of packaging in the consumer world and with labels making up a big chunk of the package-printing industry, converters can really take advantage of the opportunities sustainability provides, while doing their part for the environment.

What’s out there?

UPM Raflatac recently introduced its RafEco™ line, which includes 23 products that are each constructed with a variety of certified face papers, post-consumer waste (PCW) face papers, biodegradable films, recycling-compatible adhesives, repulpable liners, and recyclable liners. “We’ve been taking the environment seriously for decades,” says Linnea Keen, marketing director. “Therefore, it’s in our nature to help customers act more sustainably. Our new RafEco™ products are designed specifically to give our customers green alternatives that will help them grow their businesses and build brands while remaining environmentally conscious.”

MACtac is also aiming to meet the need for sustainability in the package- printing industry, with its Bloom™ line of Enviropath products. The company says it is commited to new technologies and sourcing materials to meet global compliance standards and to deliver sustainable pressure-sensitive products. Its Bloom Recycled Face Stocks line is made up of white and color post-consumer waste (10 to 100 percent PCW) paper facestocks with a choice of adhesives and liners.

Its Bloom Renewable Resource Stocks are EarthFirst® PLA (polyactic acid) white and clear label films made with Ingeo™, 640AT permanent emulsion acrylic adhesive, and 44 PK liner. The company’s Bloom Dissolvable Paper Stocks are made with an MD-332 adhesive and 2.5 mil super-calendered kraft (SCK) liner. Both the facestock and adhesive dissolve in water, which makes it easier to reclaim reusable containers.

Fasson®, a division of Avery Dennison, offers label products that use abundant, renewable sources like corn, bamboo, or sugar cane, which can be replenished more quickly than traditional wood resources. In addition, the company’s post consumer waste products—many of which are FSC-certified—can have an immediate impact on reducing landfill waste, while maximizing forest resources. Along with offering the facestock materials for labels, Fasson also produces dissolvable and environmentally-benign adhesives (EBA) that can be cleanly removed and that meet the Recycling Compatible Adhesive (RCA) standard.

3 Sigma has also recently announced the addition of a new water-dissolvable label stock to its pressure-sensitive materials line. “Many manufacturers and end users seek a temporary label product that is environmentally benign and can be easily removed,” says Paul Benson, product development manager. “This label stock has great potential for new and innovative applications, and was enthusiastically received by label producers during beta testing.” The product consists of a 40-pound super-calendered paper and WD-1 adhesive, both of which dissolve quickly and wash away in room temperature water. The new 3 Sigma label stock is designed for marking and identifying food trays, water toys, sports equipment, watercraft, or returnable containers.

For Plastics Suppliers, Inc., sustainability is right in the name of one of its most popular products: EarthFirst. EarthFirst films are made from annually renewable plant resources and are compostable to the ASTM D6400 and DIN EN 13432 standards. They also help to save energy. The company claims that using 100 pounds of EarthFirst film saves enough energy to run a 100-watt lightbulb for eight months. The films are made using the carbon neutral polymer Ingeo™, which can be made from a wide variety of plants, not just corn. It can be made from sugar beets, switchgrass, or sugarcane.

Ditch the liner

Linerless labels also provide an opportunity for converters to think more sustainably. Because they are free of liners, these labels help reduce extra material that just ends up becoming waste anyway. Linerless labels are wound on a roll that has had a release coating applied to the front of the facestock to prevent the adhesive from sticking on the label below, according to International Paper. Available facestocks include standard paper, film, and direct thermal, and the labels are available with permanent, removable, and repositionable adhesives. Not only do linerless labels eliminate waste, they also allow more labels to be included on each roll. International Paper says this, in turn, increases efficiencies by reducing roll changes and eliminating the time and cost of disposing of the liner waste.

International Paper cites the following as the advantages of using linerless labels:

• Lower costs due to reduction in material, packaging, shipping, waste removal, and inventory space.

• Release coatings also serve as protective coatings for UV resistance, moisture resistance, and resistance to some chemicals. They add some longevity to direct thermal labels.

• Labels can be printed on both sides since release coating and adhesive layers are applied after the ink is applied.

• The elimination of liner reduces silicone waste in landfills.

But, these labels also have their disadvantages, according to International Paper:

• They are available only on rolls.

• They are basically limited to square or rectangle shapes, due to the elimination of the liner to hold the label in place when diecut.

• The labels require special application equipment.

RR Donnelley also offers linerless labels for a variety of applications. The company’s linerless labels are available with a variety of adhesives, including permanent, removable, and CleanTac® ultra-removable adhesives. Its CleanTac linerless labels are designed for glass-applied applications, and are are resistant to heat and ultraviolet rays, and peel off of glass surfaces without leaving residue. pP