Supharada Thamsamerdee, UPM Raflatac Thailand Country Manager
The idiom “God is in the details” means that attention which is paid to small things can yield significant results. Yet, so often these important details are overlooked, and opportunities of getting those big rewards are missed. I am referring here to packaging labels.
When you think about it, labels are everywhere and on everything we buy — from food packaging to shampoo bottles to medicine, to wine and even mobile phones. Labels really matter, because without them, how would people know what they are buying? Labels not only help to provide information about a product to the customer, but they also play a very important role in branding. The label is the single most important driver of the packaging brand experience, making people fall in love with the product, recognize it, and return to it. In fact, the importance of labeling is widely recognised in marketing for the identification and appeal it gives to products. But there is more to a label than its function — labels also make a much wider impact, and this is why they matter.
Labels are part of packaging and there are millions of tonnes of packaging generated globally every year. This is a lot of material consumption, and it is really important that we design the label to suit the packaging, therefore minimising overall environmental footprint.
Consumer demand for purpose-driven responsible products and solutions has never been higher. People are not just looking for more sustainable products, but also more sustainable packaging from brands. To answer the call, brand owners are setting ambitious climate and circularity targets, replacing virgin fossil-based raw materials in their supply chains, and taking steps to create a sustainable future.
The world needs more sustainable packaging solutions, and labels are an integral part of sustainable packaging. That’s why labels matter in sustainable packaging. They can act as change agents by improving the sustainability of the packaging, informing about the environmental credentials of the product, and promoting a circular economy by enabling the recyclability and reusability of the packaging.
We at UPM Raflatac believe that the label can act as a change agent to switch the industry towards more sustainable packaging for the future. Our company is founded on the idea that labels matter, but more than that — sustainability in labels matters. This belief was the beginning of our journey towards becoming one of the world’s leading suppliers of label materials.
So how do we make labels more sustainable? Since labels are part of packaging, UPM Raflatac focused on identifying the points where we can contribute most positively. This approach is the foundation of our thinking — design is the starting point for sustainable packaging and labels are a part of sustainable packaging design. As a global producer of labeling materials, we are labeling a smarter future beyond fossils. With our sustainable and innovative packaging solutions, we are helping the packaging industry and brand owners to switch to more sustainable alternatives and close the packaging material loop.
There are several things we can do towards achieving this goal, and the first thing is to match the label to the substrate that it is going onto, and then apply our reduce, recycle, renew and reuse approach. By committing to responsible sourcing and sustainable operations, we create the basis for designing and offering sustainable solutions to our customers and brand owners.
An example of this approach is our RAFNXT+ label. It optimises the use of raw materials, and the wood fibres come from sustainably managed forests. This is why RAFNXT+ labels were chosen by Unilever for all Sunlight dishwashing liquid bottles in Thailand. RAFNXT+ labels, with their thinner face and liner, will benefit Unilever’s bottle converters as they have more label per roll resulting in increased productivity and less downtime, while also reducing the environmental impact of the Sunlight products.
Another example would be UPM Raflatac Forest Film, a 100%-renewable alternative to plastics. With Forest Film, you can smoothly replace traditional fossil-based options as it is identical in quality and performance compared to conventional fossil-based films. The product is 100% wood-based — it utilises UPM BioVerno naphtha, developed by UPM Biofuels to give new life to residue from the pulp process. It is a sustainable solution that requires no compromise on properties or quality.
However, sustainability and the circular economy are not feasible if we do not consider the importance of not only responsible sourcing, but also packaging recyclability. To address this challenge, UPM Raflatac developed wash-off solutions which enable a label to separate cleanly from a PET container during the recycling process, and labels with more recycled content that are suitable and safe for different end uses.
These are all ground-breaking innovations, and of course we are proud of what we do as a company with a 360-degree approach to sustainability, sustainable manufacturing targets and responsible sourcing principles. But we are also proud of what we can do in terms of helping brand owners make more sustainable choices and achieve more positive impact. Our solutions in the field of sustainable label materials help brand owners be the changemakers in sustainable packaging. UPM Raflatac’s offering of eco-friendly labeling materials allows companies to move closer to their climate targets without compromising on visual appeal of their packaging.
We envision a future where sustainable labels are created for sustainable products driving future-proof consumption. Our enthusiasm for continuous innovation drives us to develop smartly designed, sustainable products through reducing the need for virgin fossil-based raw materials, changing to renewable or recycled materials, making our products thinner and lighter, improving the recyclability and reusability of the packaging, at the same time maintaining excellent product performance. We develop our sustainability services to better answer the future needs of our clients. Partnering with converters, brand owners, raw material suppliers, and other key influencers enables us to turn these innovations into leading solutions and competitive advantage. Together, we will be the changemakers and create a future beyond fossils.