Sleeve's Twin Perf Enhances Bottle's Recyclability
- Published: November 21, 2013
KINGSPORT, TN | Looking for a premium finish to reflect its new on-the-go beverage product, UK-based The Good Whey Co. turned to Eastman Embrace HY copolyester material to use for its labels. These labels — supplied by CCL Label Decorative Sleeves, also based in the UK—are used on bottles of Upbeat, a high-protein dairy drink. Embrace HY was selected because the material offers the bottles a soft-to-the touch feel, matte look, 360-deg billboard effect and sustainability benefits.
Meeting consumer needs
One reason Eastman Embrace HY copolyester was considered by The Good Whey Company for the Upbeat product is because the recyclability of the bottles was important to the company.
“Eastman Embrace HY copolyester is an innovative sustainable packaging option for brand owners, offering a 30 percent lower density than other copolyesters and requiring less material for the same demand,” said Anthony Sammut, EMEA specification sales and marketing manager, Eastman. “By using Embrace HY for its labels, The Good Whey Co. was able to use a custom-designed clear PET bottle — which is recyclable — with a tapered waist, instead of having to use a pigmented bottle with a shrink label.”
The twin perforation on the label enables the end-user to easily tear and remove it. When a label is removed, the bottle can be more readily detected in the recycling stream, increasing the probability the plastic will be used for a new bottle. The product also was made more recyclable on account of the bottle being clear rather than colored PET, unlike many other dairy products.
“Working with Eastman Embrace HY and using the twin perforation allowed for an easily and cleanly removable sleeve, therefore encouraging consumers to remove the labels and enhancing the probability the bottle will be recycled without the fear of contamination,” said Jon Cowan, sales director, CCL Label Decorative Sleeves. “These subtle perforations do not detract from the visual excellence the sleeve offers in terms of 360-degree decoration.”
Desirable Attributes
Eastman Embrace HY copolyester provides products a distinctive on-the-shelf presence with a wraparound, 360-deg billboard effect that forms tightly around highly contoured containers. The material is naturally white colored, eliminating the need for printed white flood coats. The Good Whey Co. also selected Embrace HY because of the material’s matte effect and that it feels soft to the touch.
“The Upbeat packaging requires a premium finish to reflect the high quality of the product inside the bottle, and using Eastman Embrace HY copolyester has allowed us to do just this,” said Susie Hignett, brand manager, The Good Whey Co.
A team effort
The Good Whey Co. selected CCL Label to produce the Upbeat labels because of the company’s technical knowledge and skills and because of the group’s effective customer support during the project’s development. In turn, from previously working with its products, CCL Label knew Eastman had just the right material.
“When we were approached by The Good Whey Co. for a product label that would be attractive and eye-catching, we immediately identified Eastman Embrace HY material as the ideal solution,” Cowan said. “All companies worked through the development phase to achieve an attractive final package design.”
For more information about Eastman Embrace family of resins, visit www.eastman.com/embrace.
