If you’re interested in environmentally friendly stickers that won’t harm the planet, you’re in the right place. Environmentally friendly. Eco-friendly. Sustainable. What do they all mean? The overriding principle is that they’re stickers that don’t cause harm to the environment. If it cannot be continued indefinitely, then it’s not sustainable. Stickers are so often associated with plastic because historically, they have been made with plastic materials. However, with amazing advancements in materials technology, alternatives are available.
Biodegradable, compostable & recyclable – you will see these terms used a lot when searching for stickers, so we want to make it clear what each of them means, and the differences you may find in the stickers.
- Biodegradable stickers are capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms. These are made from plant-based materials and avoiding pollution.
- Compostable stickers are capable of disintegrating into natural elements in a compost environment, leaving no toxicity in the soil. This happens in around 90 days. These stickers are made from plant-based materials.
- Recyclable stickers can be processed to make them suitable for reuse, sometimes over & over again. These will be made of plastic that can be recycled. Local recycling rules determine how it’s recycled.
To summarise, biodegradable & compostable stickers are made from plant materials, whereas recyclable stickers are made from plastic that can be recycled. We’re going to focus on biodegradable and compostable as they are the most sustainable options.
Biodegradable paper stickers use a material made from 95% sugarcane fibres and 5% of hemp and linen. It looks & feels like a matte white paper. They’re 100% biodegradable and will decompose within months. They’re also more durable than normal paper stickers. They are splashproof and can be used in the fridge & freezer and the moisture won’t affect them. This biodegradable paper-like material is printed in full-colour with a UV-cured ink that has no solvent, which can release harmful gasses.
Eco-friendly stickers are made from a sustainably sourced wood pulp that creates a white material with a gloss finish. It’s 100% compostable in both industrial and home environments and will break-down completely, in about 12 weeks. This new ground-breaking material is a perfect sustainable option. It looks and feels like a plastic sticker but is amazingly environmentally friendly. This also means they’re suitable for outdoor use, up to 6 months and are resistant to oils & grease. Eco-friendly clear stickers are essentially the same as the stickers mentioned above, however, they are clear. So transparent in fact, you’ll be amazed they’re made from wood pulp. They are 100% compostable in home and industrial environments and are suitable for outdoor use for up to 6 months.
Labelservice is one of the foremost suppliers of Biodegradable and Compostable labels in the UK. We use the very latest face materials, adhesives and inks to give you a solution that is fully compliant to the European Standard for Compostable Packaging (EN13432). We can produce them using either digital or flexographic printing technology, meaning we can cater for either smaller, multiple sort runs, or large scale production jobs.
