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Learn how to enhance product sustainability with highly-recycled and low surface energy substrates. Read about common adhesion challenges with these substrates and how optimized adhesives can help achieve both sustainability and performance goals.

In today’s industrial markets, manufacturers like you strive to enhance product sustainability and may consider substrates that are more environmentally friendly to do that. However, these substrates often present challenges when it comes to adhesion, which can lead manufacturers to decide between using a more sustainable substrate or achieving needed performance requirements. Two notable examples of such substrates are: 

  • Highly-recycled substrates, including corrugate 
  • Low surface energy substrates, including nonwovens, polyethylene, and polypropylene 

However, your adhesive can help make it possible to achieve both sustainability and performance goals. As part of our Designing for Sustainability series, learn how choosing an adhesive with optimized performance attributes can allow you to better design for sustainability.  

Why Certain Substrates Pose Adhesion Challenges

These adhesion challenges can put manufacturers like you in a difficult position. You either: 

  • Use the more sustainable substrates: While this choice supports environmental goals, it can lead to poor adhesion results due to the adhesive not meeting performance requirements. This can cause product failures and increased waste – which in turn, undermines sustainability efforts. 

Or: 

  • Use traditional substrates: These materials often provide the necessary performance and production efficiencies, but they may not be as sustainably sourced and can strain resources. 

 

The Solution: Adhesives with Optimized Performance Attributes

Fortunately, with the right adhesive, it is possible to use more sustainable substrates without sacrificing performance. Adhesives with optimized attributes can bridge the gap between sustainability and functionality. These attributes can include: 

  • High initial tack refers to the adhesive's ability to quickly form a bond upon contact with a substrate. An adhesive should have this attribute when bonding to challenging surfaces like highly recycled corrugate or low surface energy materials. It also helps prevent issues such as shifting or misalignment of materials during assembly and provides strong and reliable bond from the outset. 
  • Flexibility in an adhesive allows it to maintain a strong bond even when the substrate undergoes movement or shifting. This is particularly important for materials that are subject to bending, stretching or other strong forces during their lifespan. Flexible adhesives can absorb and distribute stress without cracking or losing adhesion and work well for applications where the substrate may experience mechanical strain or thermal expansion and contraction. 
  • Environmental resistance means the adhesive can withstand various environmental factors such as moisture, temperature changes, and chemical exposure. It’s important for an adhesive to have this attribute so that it can maintain bond strength and integrity over time, even in harsh conditions. For example, adhesives with good moisture resistance are essential for applications in humid or wet environments, while those with thermal stability are necessary for products exposed to extreme temperatures. This optimized attribute helps extend the lifespan of the bonded materials, reducing the need for repairs or replacements and contributing to overall sustainability. 

By considering how your adhesive can be optimized with certain performance attributes, you can incorporate more sustainable substrates across various applications and not compromise on performance. This approach not only supports sustainability but also encourages innovation in adhesive technology for a more sustainable future in manufacturing. 

How Bostik Can Help

As the adhesive solutions segment of Arkema, our Bostik team understands you may have questions about what’s involved in understanding how adhesive formulations impact sustainability and finding the right sustainable adhesive for your production. That’s why we provide:     

  • Analytical Expertise: From collecting information on materials, conducting trials at our facility, to providing product and processing recommendations, we’ll help ensure our solutions work effectively to accomplish your goals.  
  • Troubleshooting and Optimizing: We’ll help you address issues on-site to ensure you have a seamless transition to incorporating our adhesive solutions. We will also provide recommendations to help prevent future issues that could arise.  

Interested in choosing an adhesive with optimized performance attributes so that you can incorporate more sustainable substrates into your manufacturing? Contact a Bostik expert today to learn how our sustainable solutions can help improve your environmental footprint while helping you achieve high performance and efficient processing.  

Make sure to read the other blog posts from our Designing for Sustainability Series:  

Why You Should Consider an Adhesive’s Formulation 

Why You Should Consider an Adhesive’s End-of-Life Impact

 

©2025 Bostik, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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

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