In an age when sustainability is factoring increasingly into manufacturing and buying decisions for paper- and board-based packaging, one aspect of the sustainable paper packaging chain is often overlooked – the label.
Forest certification of the paper products used in packaging is now commonplace on much packaging in use today, but little attention is paid to where label stocks, and the adhesives used, are sourced, according to the environmental and sustainability specialist for pulp and paper company UPM Raflatac Oceania, Dr Carol Lawrence.
Speaking at the recent Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) National Conference in Queensland, Dr Lawrence spoke of how labels should be considered just as strongly as the primary packaging material when appraising a pack’s sustainability credentials.
“I am very much an inquisitive ‘nuisance’ consumer because I like asking questions about packaging recycability,” Lawrence says.
“But companies need nuisance consumers like me to know what consumers think, to prompt them to keep packaging fit for the future and what they need to do to change things.
“The label on a pack is very important, after all, it is the prime method to give information that the consumer needs. But the label on a pack can often certainly be more efficient and sustainable.
“It is very important for us to think about the label, not only to convey the product’s message but also to provide information about how the package and label are recyclable.
“More than 50 per cent of self-adhesive labels is potentially waste, and we do not want that.”
One of her chief concerns, she says, is how the labelling on packages can aspire to sustainability as much as the primary packages they sit on.
“UPM Raflatac’s vision is that we want to genuinely have a value in renewable and recyclable materials, and the label is an important part of that,” she says.
“Sustainability has to be considered right back at the new product development stage.”
Lawrence says that UPM Raflatac Oceania has been granted both Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) chain of custody certificates for its labelstock operations in Australia and New Zealand.
The facilities will be annually audited to verify the company’s continued compliance with the certification requirements.
Lawrence says these certifications guarantee that the wood pulp used in UPM Raflatac’s label materials is from sustainably managed forests.
“The certification involves implementing documented procedures to ensure that certified materials are tracked through all stages of our operation from goods receiving, to lamination, converting and quality assurance, through to customer’s premises,” she says.
“This achievement is a significant milestone towards increasing our range of eco-labelled products as we aim to embed environmental considerations for all our products.”
Lawrence says that when considering sustainable aspects of labels, she has one simple rule: “Put very simply: 'Go thin, go light'.”
“Thinner labels means you can get more labels on a roll, more rolls on a pallet, and you are using less energy to store, transport and apply them,” Lawrence says.
She says the challenge is also to match label stock to the primary packaging material.
“You need to match your self-adhesive label stocks to what is happening with your bottle or pack – which means that with trends like lightweighting, the label has to match that,” she says.
But there are also other factors to consider, such as the need to balance label weight and stiffness to ensure that thin and light labels are applied successfully through high speed label applicators.
“We have to look at all the environmental impacts of our paper labelling industry,” she says. “We need to look at the entire life-cycle approach, not only from cradle-to-grave but from cradle-to-cradle.
“Take the paper itself – there are some very basic questions to consider there: What is the container we are labelling – a plastic container or a cardboard box demand different label solutions? Where does it come from? Is it sustainably sourced? What type of label film is the best match for package recyclability?
“We also need to match film types to package types, because you don’t want too many materials in the mix, as that makes it difficult to sort and recycle.”
She says the printing stage of the production process also throws many variables into the mix.
“You need to think about the inks used. Vegetable inks are being used more, for example, as a sustainable and natural printing medium, but it has to be durable ink to meet the requirements of the packaging and retail chain.”
Even the size of a label has to involve a consideration between the amount of material used, and the ability of the label to serve its prime purpose – to brand a product and give consumers the information they need about the contents of a package.
“Label size has to be as small as possible, but also big enough for the consumer to read,” she says.
In recent years, development in different paper label stocks is enhancing the environmental credentials of labels. Different stocks, however, pose different challenges, she says.
Bagasse paper, for example, sourced from fibre left over from processing of sugar cane or sorghum stalks, is starting to become a popular labelling medium.
“Alternative fibre papers such as Bagasse have been used in offices for a long while, and are now proving attractive and are beginning to be used in labelling innovations for wine and boutique beverages,” she says.
“It [Bagasse] is easily broken down to pulp. It is very interesting paper, now being manufactured with high wet strength properties, but it is not yet for everyone.
“And then there are carbon neutral papers and these are starting to make an impact as self-adhesive label papers.
“Additionally, there are biodegradeable alternative films and polymers such as biodegradeable polylactic acid and cellulose films. These mean you can team up biodegradeable films with environmentally friendly adhesives so they can be compostable at home,” she says. “Brand owners have a vast array of label choices but not all of them inspire confidence yet.”
Overall, Lawrence emphasises, the most important consideration for the packaging technologist is to choose label stock to be compatible with the primary package.
