HERE’S WHY AND HOW TO USE SUSTAINABLE LABELS TO ATTRACT ECO-CONSCIOUS SHOPPERS
                     HERE’S WHY AND HOW 
TO USE SUSTAINABLE 
LABELS TO ATTRACT ECO-
CONSCIOUS SHOPPERS
Considering switching to more eco-friendly labels for your 
business/products? Congrats! You are about to join the sustainable 
club and experience a growing wave of public sentiment.
A survey published in 2020 reported that 9 in 10 Australian 
consumers are more likely to purchase ethical and sustainable 
products from the brands, while younger consumers seem to 
be more sustainably-minded – with 46% of shoppers under-
30s, compared to 34% of over-50s.
Customers want brands and retailers to be more transparent 
about the origin and sustainability of products so that they 
are more aware of what and who they are purchasing from. 
Driven by sustainability, consumers are willing to pay more 
for products with environment-friendly packaging.
This presents brands with the perfect opportunity to choose 
sustainable labels and improve their bottom line by making a big 
difference in the environment. However, when choosing eco-friendly 
labels, it can be difficult to know which options are truly environment-
friendly and which ones are just green washed rip-offs.
Zebra has been laser-focused lately on introducing more 
eco-friendly labels and RFID inlay options for desktop, 
mobile and industrial printing applications.
Moreover, we have put together this guide which 
will help you understand sustainable labels so that 
you can make an informed decision and benefit from 
your transition to sustainable labels.
CHOOSING ECO-FRIENDLY LABEL 
MATERIALS
Eco-friendly labels are produced using earth-friendly 
materials and designed to reduce the carbon footprint 
of the company that manufactures them.
Materials that are recycled, recyclable or renewable are 
usually the sustainable choices for product labels. This 
can apply to the entire label or specific elements, like 
the printing surface, the ink or the adhesive.
It is important to know that while the plastic, glass or 
metal containers that hold your products may be recycled, 
their labels (and label adhesives) may not be, as they are 
burned away during the recycling process.
Listed below are a few options for eco-friendly labels
• PLA (Polylactic acid) labels: They look and behave 
like petroleum-based plastics but won’t stay behind 
for centuries in landfills. While PLA cannot be 
recycled, it biodegrades in just 60 days. It is 
derived from renewable sources like corn starch.
• Tree-free labels: The destruction of forest and 
rainforest increases the paper’s demand. The use of 
paper-like products is rising as they can be 
manufactured without trees. Bamboo, sugarcane and 
cotton can be used to make tree-free labels. Stone 
paper is made mostly from calcium carbonate and 
isn’t derived from plants at all. It does include a little 
bit of plastic, however.
• Alternative inks: The regular ink (petroleum- and 
solvent-based) releases toxic chemicals like VOCs 
(volatile organic compounds) that are harsh to the 
environment; but alternatives based on water and 
vegetable oils have been gaining more traction 
amongst different industries for labelling.
Be sure to determine and understand how an ink 
will react to exposure before you choose it for 
your product label.
• Thinner materials: The lesser the 
material used for labelling, the fewer 
resources it will consume; hence, easier 
it will be to recycle.
ENVIRONMENTAL-FRIENDLY LABELS AND 
THE REUSE OF PRODUCT PACKAGING
In order to eliminate or decrease the environmental footprint of 
your product packaging, it is important to extend and share the 
words with shoppers regarding the usefulness of packaging.
This suggests retailers or brands can use a strategy where 
customers who bring in their product bottles or jars for refilling 
can get a promotional discount i.e. mentioned on the label.
Or simply, you can print a link to a website on your labels (using 
a QR code) where customers can get tips on repurposing their 
bottles into other handy containers.
IS YOUR LABEL DESIGN 
SUSTAINABLE?
Sustainability is the need of the hour and every industry is 
focusing on delivering eco-friendly product and packaging. In 
addition, the sustainable design movement is at its peak and 
happening across the fashion and architecture industries.
Besides, sustainability in graphic designing is just a rising 
trend to reduce the environmental impact of printed 
items such as packaging or posters from the get-go.
The simple way to attract more eco-friendly shoppers is to 
make the label design more sustainable and feature reuse or 
recycle information prominently along with the product’s 
natural, non-toxic or locally sourced ingredients.
A few sustainable label design options include but are not 
limited to:
• Saving space, thus resources, by using QR codes or 
NFC tags to redirect customers to more information 
online.
• Sharing design proofs and ideas digitally, instead of 
printing on paper.
• Selecting colours that are available in non-volatile 
water or vegetable-oil based inks.
• Shrinking the label size and opting for the minimalist 
visual approach.
DIMINISHING LABEL LINER WASTE
Liner is one overlooked component of a product label’s 
environmental footprint. Whether shipped in rolls or 
stacks, all labels come on protective liners.
Label liners are typically made from low-grade paper coated with a 
release agent, like silicone. Liners are not recyclable in the standard 
paper recycling stream but they can be recycled as some recyclers 
discovered ways for removing the releasing agent from liners.
Some label suppliers offer a program to collect used liners 
and ship them to a specialised recycler. If your supplier 
doesn’t, you may consider using thinner liners for less waste 
or opt for linerless labels to give up liners altogether.
To sum up, any step you take to preserve the environment 
and its resources – be it investing in industrial label printers, 
choosing sustainable labels or recycling your labels, will bring 
you close to eco-conscious shoppers.
Go ahead and take the sustainable decision as the future is certainly 
green. As each generation prioritises environmental sustainability, 
businesses need to pull their socks up and get on board.
CONTACT US
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By Phone: 1300 026 062
By Email: [email protected]
Website: https://possales.com.au