DESIGNING IT RIGHT:
WHY LABEL CHOICE IS VITAL Why is it so important to make the right labelling choice if the packaging industry wants to reduce its reliance on fossil resources? Victoria Hattersley spoke to Eliisa Laurikainen, Business Development Manager, Consumer Goods at UPM Raflatac, to find out.
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hen it comes to future-proofing packaging, labels matter. And yet often the importance of the label when it comes to ensuring the overall sustainability and recyclability of a package can easily be overlooked. That’s why this company, which since the 1970s has been creating high-performance and sustainable label materials, argues brand owners should put the same care into selecting their labelling materials as they do into choosing their packaging. The ultimate aim, as it says, is to empower brand owners to move ‘beyond fossils’ to a more sustainable use of the world’s resources – and always designing packaging with recyclability or reuse as the end goal. This requires employing the strategy of eco-design: that the whole lifecycle of the packaging, including the label, should be considered from the start of the design process. This encompasses everything from raw materials to manufacturing, right through to how the package is disposed of, factoring the labelling material into the packaging design right from the start. This approach is summed up – by UPM Raflatac – with the dual message of ‘Make the Switch’ and ‘Close the Loop’. Each of these two are intertwined: the one relies upon the other.
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“With the message ‘Make the Switch’ we are encouraging brand owners to change to more sustainable label material choices,” begins Eliisa Laurikainen. “This can be reducing the use of raw materials, for example using thinner or resource-optimized label solutions, or taking advantage of the wider availability of label materials made from post-consumer recycled waste (PCR), such as our PP C-PCR – a polypropylene film where virgin materials have been replaced with chemically recycled post-consumer waste – or for paper labels UPM Raflatac Recycled Coat Plus PCR-FSC face paper material using 100% recycled fibres. “Packaging recyclability is important today and it will be even more important in the future as brand owners are envisioning a waste-free world. Choosing the right label can help optimize recyclability and that’s where ‘Close the Loop’ comes in. The packaging choices made will determine which recycling stream the pack will go in so it’s vital we make good label choices to support the recycling or reuse process.” One key solution developed by UPM Raflatac that supports the ‘Close the Loop’ approach is RafCycle – a label waste recycling service designed to offer customers and brand owners a circular recycling solution. This is important because, as UPM Raflatac says, many companies may not know
