Avery Dennison has introduced a new portfolio
of Fasson Wash-off labels that will help brand owners reduce the environmental
impact of their products by maximising opportunities for material recycling. Suitable
for both glass and PET bottles, the wash-off labels provide label converters
with a simple and immediate replacement for any existing wet-glue product.
“Our responsibility as a producer of wash-off
labels extends far beyond our portion of the value chain,” said Jon Maley, vice
president, marketing at Avery Dennison Materials Group. We work closely with our
customers to develop solutions that reduce the environmental impact of the
products we collectively manufacture and consume. Maximizing recycling is a
great way to do that for beverage applications. ”
Developed for “no-label look” decoration of
returnable beer bottles, the wash-off labels are designed to enhance the brand
image of premium beers and support complex label shapes. They are suitable for
body and/or neck labelling of both light and dark containers, as well as
bottled water in glass and large (gallon) containers of juices and smoothies in
recyclable PET bottles.
Wash-off labels have a multi-layer
construction consisting of a polypropylene film that delivers excellent
clarity, a PET liner and a proprietary wash-off adhesive. The adhesive is
formulated for the easy removal of labels when washed in industrial brewery
washers. Wash-off labels leave no adhesive residues on the bottle, nor in the
washer. Furthermore, they leave no label marks or “ghosting” on the bottle. The
labels wash off from 65°C, allowing for lower washer temperatures than the
current average of 80°C. The labels are designed to have excellent performance
in tropical and/or hot environments and are resistant to UV.
Glass
bottles
The new material is ideal for any returnable
glass bottle. Due to their innovative duo-layer construction and unique
adhesive range, wash-off label’s two film layers expand at different rates in a
hot washer. This makes the label curl for easy removal. Both the adhesive and
the inks remain on the label, which allows the label to wash off without
contaminating the water in the washer.
PET
bottles
When Fasson Wash-off labels are used in
combination with PET bottles, the high quality PET is suitable for
bottle-to-bottle recycling, which helps increase productivity and improve
cost-effectiveness across the value chain. After use, PET bottles and their
labels are shredded, before the resulting mixture is soaked in a hot alkaline solution.
The label material then separates from the PET chips, due to a difference in
density. During this part of the recycling process, the high-performance
washable adhesive stays with the shredded label flakes, which allows 100%
recycling of the PET material.
Headquartered in Pasadena, California; Avery
Dennison is a global leader in labelling and packaging materials and solutions.
The company’s applications and technologies are an integral part of products
used in every major market and industry. With operations in more than 50
countries, Avery Dennison serves customers with insights and innovations that
help make brands more inspiring and the world more intelligent.
