Dow washable label adhesives recognized for sustainable packaging design

● The American Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) recognized Dow’s innovative washable label adhesives for the recycling of clear PET bottles and film labels.

● INVISU? 7007 adhesive combines high adhesive performance and design for recyclability.

● This certified solution meets converters’ needs for reliable, high-performance labeling solutions and recyclers’ needs for cleaner recycled material.

Dow NVISU® 7007 Washable Pressure Sensitive Adhesive has been recognized by the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR) as meeting or exceeding its strictest key guidelines for recycling clear PET products with film labels and closures. APR’s Significant Guidance Recognition, a widely accepted recyclability assessment of plastic packaging, is awarded to companies whose products address sustainable packaging design challenges.

“Labels are an important part of packaging because they convey important information to the end user. INVISU® 7007 water-based label adhesive combines high performance and recyclability, because we believe our customers don’t have to compromise for one or the other. We put innovation first, delivering quality solutions that leverage design for recyclability, helping the industry realize its commitment to sustainability.”

The perfect combination of performance and recyclability

Productivity remains key to label changeover. As sustainability takes center stage for consumers and policymakers, companies are constantly innovating solutions to meet new parameters such as take-back protocols. While film labels can compromise the recycling process if not properly separated from the labeled item, washable adhesives have proven to be an effective technology for clean label separation, resulting in high-quality recycling yields.

David Keely, Director of Adhesive Applications Technologies for Dow’s Packaging and Specialty Plastics business, added: “Converters need reliable labeling solutions for efficient bonding and high-speed production, while recyclers want the purest possible recycling results. to increase yields. When more products become available for recycling and better recycling is achieved, recycling rates increase, less fossil fuel is required, and everyone benefits.”

Dow INVISU® 7007 water-based adhesive was developed to meet label recycling needs while extending label performance. INVISU® 7007 washable label adhesive has excellent adhesion and tack, high solids content, can be processed at high speeds on the most advanced coating machines, and has the same performance as existing high-performance general-purpose film label adhesives, while achieving more Good recycling. For example, test trials have shown that INVISU® 7007 washable label adhesive enables polyolefin-based (PE, PP) film labels to be separated during the washing step of the recycling process and produce pure fragments that can be used for new materials.

Izzat Midani, Adhesives Market Manager, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, added: “Dow’s goal is to have 100 percent of the products we sell for packaging applications reusable or recyclable by 2035. Our INVISU? The APR certification for 7007 Washable Label Adhesive is an important third-party verification that brands and converters can choose to use our products with greater confidence to meet their sustainability goals.”

Dow, through its Pack Studios Innovation Center, works with companies across the value chain to test and optimize the recyclability of packaging and labeling technologies to help improve the circular economy of plastics. As a full-service supplier of acrylic pressure sensitive adhesives and silicone release coatings, Dow is helping customers maximize the cost-effectiveness of their labels and packaging.