Can Your Shipping Labels Withstand Ecommerce Changes?
As supply chains evolve to mitigate environmental impact, packaging materials for ecommerce are changing as well. Given that shipping labels play an important role in package delivery, it's important to ensure these labels are able to address these changes.
Find out what increasingly recycled content and decreasing material usage mean for shipping labels to determine if yours can withstand the changes.
Increased Recycled Content
The rising ecommerce sector means more packages are shipped on a daily basis. To reduce the environmental footprint of increased package volume, manufacturers are increasing recycled content in their package materials.
- What This Change Means for Shipping Labels
Typical paper fibers in a corrugated box are recycled 10-12 times(Fibre Box Association). Each time they’re recycled, these fibers get shorter and shorter. This makes it increasingly difficult for conventional shipping labels to properly adhere to recycled cardboard boxes. So higher performing adhesives, which quickly form permanent bonds, are needed.
Decreased Material Usage
Another way converters look to achieve sustainability initiatives is by downgauging the materials used in label construction. All aspects of the label are impacted, including facestock, adhesive and release liner. Thinner materials inherently decrease material usage while allowing more labels per roll, fewer changeovers and lower shipping costs.
- What This Change Means for Shipping Labels
Thinner label construction for ecommerce labels can pose adhesion challenges.
As adhesive coatings get thinner, peel strength decreases. Over the past several years, some labels applications have seen as much as a 25% decrease in adhesive usage. To overcome this, higher performing adhesives are increasingly specified in ecommerce applications.
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