Labelexpo Europe 2019: Avery Dennison balances performance, circularity and natural aesthetics

27 Sep 2019 --- Global materials science and manufacturing company Avery Dennison is featuring a range of recently launched sustainable solutions at its “A Sustainable World” exhibit at the ongoing Labelexpo Europe show in Brussels, Belgium. Among the solutions exhibited is the supplier’s new recycled PET (rPET) liner, which uses 30 percent PET post-consumer waste (PCW). The rPET liner was awarded the Environmental and Sustainability Award at the 2019 Label Industry Global Awards ceremony this week. Avery Dennison also introduced a new label adhesive technology for a stronger hold on rough surfaces during this year’s show.

As Labelexpo 2019 reaches its final day, PackagingInsights speaks to Avery Dennison’s Rob Groen in ‘t Wout, Senior Marketing Manager Films, Labels and Graphics Materials and Mariya Nedelcheva, Product Manager Films and Graphics Materials about the supplier’s new-to-market product lines, including:

• Recycled Content Liners – Avery Dennison’s rPET and rBG liners cost the same as conventional liners and deliver the same ease of conversion and smooth dispensing, but are made with recycled material, 30 percent and 15 percent PCW, respectively.
• Recycled Content Facestock – Designed for a more natural look, Avery Dennison rPE is made with 30 percent recycled PE resin. It naturally offers a slightly varied look from batch to batch, signaling authenticity, simplicity and a commitment to the earth.
• CleanFlake Adhesive Technology – Enables ink, label and adhesive to fully separate from PET during the recycling process, without sacrificing adhesion or aesthetics of the package during its use. The newest addition to the product line CleanFlake Flex is specially designed for use with freshly blown PET bottles, helping ensure the containers are easier to recycle.
• Wine Crush Range – For wine and spirits brands aiming to boost shelf appeal while signaling environmental integrity, Avery Dennison is introducing a new line of paper facestocks made of recycled paper and organic waste. To support a transition to a circular economy, converters can choose from facestock made with 15 percent grape, citrus, or barley waste, along with 40 percent FSC-certified recycled paper.
• Sustainable Wine Range – A new range of paper facestocks for wine, with 30 percent to 100 percent recycled content, unique finishes ready to inspire creativity, and low minimum orders to enable small production runs.

Recycled content liners: More circular, equally attractive
Nedelcheva explains that the recycled content in the rPET and rBG liners must maintain the function of holding the label during printing, conversion and then also be stable during application. The liners also need to be stable in the production process, when the face material, adhesive and liner to protect it are put together.

Avery Dennison won the Environmental and Sustainability Award for its rPET liner at the 2019 Label Industry Global Awards. From left to right: Flor Peña Herron, Burak Shabaz, Jenny Wassenaar, Rob Groen in 't Wout, Mariya Nedelcheva and Michael Sanders.“The liner needs to be very closely monitored for issues such as dimensional stability and smoothness when we are developing new materials. We must ensure that the materials have the same stability in both directions and the same kind of surface, with no defects or impurities,” Nedelcheva says.

“The rPET liner is a post-consumer waste, which is a step towards a circular economy,” continues Groen in ‘t Wout. “The rBG liners go further in actually providing liner-to-liner recycling, which is truly a circular economy.”

The great thing about both liners, according to Groen in ‘t Wout, is that there is no compromise on performance, nor on the aesthetics of the film. For instance, the recycled glassine liner, rBG, shows the same performance while reducing CO2 emissions by 8 percent, energy usage by 5 percent and the pulp needed by 15 percent compared to the conventional liner.

Whether it is liner or a facestock, Avery Dennison intends to increase the recycled content of its materials going forwards.

“Of course, achieving this all depends on technical feasibility, costs and also the availability of recycled raw materials,” notes Groen in ‘t Wout.

“If you look at recycling in Europe, there is good recycling infrastructure for PET, but there is also a high demand for recycled PET flakes,” adds Nedelcheva. “The high demand will affect costs. For paper as well, we need to ensure that increased recycled content is not reducing the structure or stability of the paper. The market for recycled content is growing and the intention is there to use it.”

Avery Dennison wants its liner to be used again and again, but collection challenges can also be an obstacle to this. For the rBG liners, the supplier already has several recycling partnerships in place. For the rPET liners, recycling partnerships are proving more of a challenge, but there are “considerable steps being taken in the industry to expand collection programs and recycling options,” Nedelcheva says.

Recycled content facestock: The sustainability look
Avery Dennison rPE is made with 30 percent rPE resin. It offers a slightly varied look from batch to batch, protruding authenticity and a natural aesthetic.CleanFlake Adhesive Technology helps recycers enable the recyclers producer high-quality, food-approved PET pellets.

“If you take rPE facestock, you see a difference in aesthetics, but not much at all in performance,” notes Groen in ‘t Wout. “You will see small impurities in the film known as gels, which are unmelted parts in the film. This gives the film a slightly different look.”

“What we see is that a lot of brand owners like that because it enhances the sustainability look of the product on the shelf,” he adds.

In the case of rPE, the supplier has launched a solution that can be used for general purpose applications, notably home and personal care applications, food applications and especially bottles or containers which are flexible or have a contoured shape.

CleanFlake Adhesive Technology: Floating to the top
Nedelcheva describes CleanFlake technology as a “special combination” between a facestock film and an adhesive. This combination allows the label and laminate to separate cleanly from the bottle after the package has arrived at the recycler.

Avery Dennison introduces new label adhesive technology for stronger hold on rough surfaces.Once PET packages are sorted at the recycling facility, they are shredded into small flakes and those flakes are washed in a sink-float separation process. During the washing, the adhesive is deactivated and the label is detached from the flake.

“Our labels are designed to be lighter than water, while PET is heavier than water due to its higher density. So the PET sinks to the bottom and the label floats to the top during separation, allowing the clean PET flakes to be extracted. Uncontaminated flakes with no residuals enable the recycler to producer high-quality, food-approved PET pellets,” Nedelcheva explains.

“The CleanFlake solution is compatible with current recycling processes in the EU,” continues Groen in ‘t Wout, “so it is a plug and play solution.”

“Here at Labelexpo, we are showing how we have expanded the CleanFlake portfolio. Our new CleanFlake Flex is specifically developed for slightly squeezable bottles, which you typically see at home or in personal care, or freshly blown molded bottles in the beverage industry.”

“As these bottles are freshly blown and shortly after labeled, they tend to still have some dimensional changes, which can lead to issues such as wrinkling of the label. To solve these issues, CleanFlake Flex expands and ensures that it can withstand those conditions and still look premium when the bottle is on the shelf,” Groen in ‘t Wout tells PackagingInsights.

Labelexpo launch: Label adhesive for stronger hold on rough surfaces
Avery Dennison introduced its new Surfas Technology at Labelexpo Europe. This patent-pending adhesive technology increases surface contact for better initial tack to create a stronger hold on rough finishes, like corrugated boxes. Surfas Technology, a suitable solution for e-commerce and logistics labeling needs, offers a sustainable edge and will be available at the same price as conventional labeling solutions for corrugated board.The Avery Dennison stand at Labelexpo Europe 2019: The supplier has pledged that more than 70 percent of its PET liners will contain PCW by 2022.

The newest in a long history of Avery Dennison adhesive technology innovations, Surfas reduces the risk of curled or failed logistics labels to ensure on-time and accurate shipping. Corrugated cardboard can be a challenge for label adhesion, according to Eric Ide, Senior Product Manager, Label and Packaging Materials Europe. Irregular surfaces require a more rigorous label adhesive that can bond to a wider variety of finishes.

Surfas Technology is developed for ultimate strength and bond when labeling rough substrates. In addition to streamlining operations, increasing reliability and improving accuracy, the new adhesive coating technology offers sustainability advantages by using significantly less oil per square meter of material.

“We’ve cracked the code for labeling irregular surfaces,” says Eric Bartholomew, Global R&D Director. “The technology’s stronger initial tack and higher adhesion make it a solution you can count on across the life of the label.” Following the preview at Labelexpo, Avery Dennison intends to further validate Surfas Technology with selected partners in preparation of a broad market launch.

By Joshua Poole