May 19, 2023 - 3-5 minutes
Easily Change Your Label Adhesive for a Bio-Based Option
Learn about hot melt, bio-based label adhesives, their similarities to hot melt, fossil-based label adhesives you already use and why you should consider using them.
As demand for improved sustainability in label manufacturing increases, converters like you are exploring different options to enhance your products. One of the latest solutions includes hot melt, bio-based adhesives, but how can you be sure this technology:
- Offers the necessary performance levels?
- Supports operational efficiencies?
- Helps improve your label manufacturing's carbon footprint?
What are Hot Melt, Bio-Based Adhesives?
Hot melt, bio-based adhesives are partially or wholly derived from renewable biomass. Compared to traditional, fossil-based adhesives’ raw materials, which are based on gas oils, hot melt, bio-based adhesives yield less carbon emissions and have reduced environmental impact.
For an adhesive to be deemed bio-based, its formulation must include more bio-based carbon molecules than fossil-based among the oils and resins. Bio-based adhesives offer strong bonding to facestocks with polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), as well as paper, corrugate, glass and stainless-steel substrates.
For an adhesive to be deemed bio-based, its formulation must include more bio-based carbon molecules than fossil-based among the oils and resins. Bio-based adhesives offer strong bonding to facestocks with polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), as well as paper, corrugate, glass and stainless-steel substrates.
How Hot Melt, Bio-Based Adhesives Address Needed Performance Levels
Hot melt, fossil-based adhesives offer a variety of performance capabilities that ensure a label will maintain bond performance without impacting aesthetics, such as:
- Adjustable tack levels for required bond strength
- Ability to bond to difficult substrates, such as plastic and corrugate
How Hot Melt, Bio-Based Adhesives Address Operational Efficiency Needs
Hot melt, fossil-based adhesives often provide cost-effective solutions because of their fast setup times, which allow for streamlined assembly processes. The same hot melt adhesive will work well across production lines due to broad bonding capabilities. This further enhances operational efficiencies and allows you to use equipment you already own, keeping your overall processing costs down.
Like hot melt, fossil-based adhesives, hot melt, bio-based adhesives perform on the same equipment, allowing you to use what you already own rather than investing in a new production line. Further, hot melt, bio-based adhesives provide the same bond strength at low coat weights like fossil-based adhesives, helping you to get more use out of the adhesive supply per drum. This provides streamlined production with minimal changeouts to increase your speed-to-market.
Like hot melt, fossil-based adhesives, hot melt, bio-based adhesives perform on the same equipment, allowing you to use what you already own rather than investing in a new production line. Further, hot melt, bio-based adhesives provide the same bond strength at low coat weights like fossil-based adhesives, helping you to get more use out of the adhesive supply per drum. This provides streamlined production with minimal changeouts to increase your speed-to-market.
How Hot Melt, Bio-Based Adhesives Improve Overall Label Sustainability
Hot melt, bio-based adhesives can enhance sustainability for labels with or without liners to a greater extent than hot melt, fossil-based adhesives. With the release liner, adhesive and the label itself, you can potentially increase a third of its overall sustainability in your label when choosing a bio-based adhesive solution, which includes decreasing carbon emissions by using raw materials over fossil-based materials. Unlike compostable or recyclable adhesives, bio-based adhesives do not need to meet a specific set of guidelines to reach the full potential of sustainable solution offerings. For example, you can still enhance the overall sustainability of a linered label with a bio-based adhesive, a paper release liner and paper facestock.
Why Choose Bostik for Your Bio-Based Label Adhesives
As the adhesive solutions division of Arkema, Bostik is part of a global effort to increase bio-based raw material usage in all pressure sensitive adhesives technologies. With a portfolio of bio-based label adhesive solutions, Bostik has quickly become a global leader in developing this niche sustainable offering to converters. Based on external lab testing, we provide several bio-based options that are certified by the testing method ASTM D6866-22 (Method B). These options have various percentages of bio-based molecules to address your specific needs.
When you work with Bostik for a hot melt, bio-based label adhesive solution, you’ll also receive full technical support to be sure your chosen adhesive operates efficiently on your current processing equipment and is formulated to bond securely to your substrates. Additionally, our Bostik team can provide insight on ways to heighten the sustainability features of your end-use label, which includes providing life cycle assessments under specific conditions to help you determine how much your carbon footprint will decrease from using our products.
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- 46% bio-based adhesives
- 70% bio-based adhesives
- 80% bio-based adhesives
When you work with Bostik for a hot melt, bio-based label adhesive solution, you’ll also receive full technical support to be sure your chosen adhesive operates efficiently on your current processing equipment and is formulated to bond securely to your substrates. Additionally, our Bostik team can provide insight on ways to heighten the sustainability features of your end-use label, which includes providing life cycle assessments under specific conditions to help you determine how much your carbon footprint will decrease from using our products.
Are you interested in exploring what bio-based adhesives can do for your label manufacturing? Contact a Bostik expert today and learn how you can easily improve your label’s sustainability.
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All information contained herein is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication, is provided “as-is” and is subject to change without notice. To review our full U.S. Legal Disclaimer, visit: https://bostik.com/us/en_US/privacy-policy/legal-disclaimer
All information contained herein is believed to be accurate as of the date of publication, is provided “as-is” and is subject to change without notice. To review our full U.S. Legal Disclaimer, visit: https://bostik.com/us/en_US/privacy-policy/legal-disclaimer