Avery Dennison announces market-first recycled direct thermal labeling as e-commerce demand peaks

22 Jan 2021 --- Avery Dennison is releasing “a market-first” line of recycled direct thermal labels (rDT), citing a rise in e-commerce and logistics, for which thermal labeling is used and usually wasted.

The labeling and functional materials specialist’s new product line adds to a portfolio of increasingly recyclable materials “pushing the labeling industry toward more regenerative practices.”

PackagingInsights speaks with Marrijne Pluim, marketing communications manager at Avery Dennison. 

“Direct thermal paper is composed of multiple layers. The top-layer is thermal sensitive, which reacts to heat and turns black. Since there is no need for a ribbon to print the information, it is very cost-effective and efficient to print variable information.” 

“This ranges from barcodes and other secondary details – such as addresses, weight or dates – that would not be displayed on a prime label. It is mostly used in logistic, retail and food applications.”

Vincenzo Palumbo, product manager for direct thermal paper at Avery Dennison, describes a sharp rise in demand for sustainable direct thermal solutions, especially in the logistics and e-commerce space.

“That such a widely used material didn’t have a recycled option available showed a big gap in the market, and we’re excited to introduce rDT to meet the clear demand for sustainable labels as well as push the labeling industry towards more regenerative practices.”

Recycled with virgin quality
Pluim shares how Avery Dennison conducted tests to ensure the rDT labels stand up to the performance of regular DT. 

The recycled labels are also free of bisphenol A, an industrial chemical khown to seep into food products.“Whenever we produce new label constructions, we test very thoroughly both in our factories and with our customers how the material behaves. For converting and application, we found no difference between virgin direct thermal paper and our rDT paper with recycled content.”

The recycled labels are also free of bisphenol A, an industrial chemical shown to seep into food products. 

The materials used are derived from Forest Stewardship Award certified wood and the direct thermal uncoated paper contains post-consumer recycled waste. 

The material is on par with standard DT paper’s visual appearance, conversion, printability, and barcode readability, says Avery Dennison. 

Circular economy actions 
“We are constantly working on extending and improving our rRange portfolio, either with new products or by increasing the percentage of recycled content on existing products,” continues Pluim. 

“Next to rDT, we recently launched new products in our rPE range and will soon announce additional products in our rPP and rMC ranges.”

Companies using the rDT labels can now make additional environmental sustainability claims, she adds. 

“By using rDT labels, companies are supported in reaching their sustainability targets. Driven by the growth of the e-commerce and logistics markets, and for a bit longer already by the retail industry, we want to be in the forefront of sustainable offerings to reduce our customers and end users environmental impact.”

By Louis Gore-Langton