Since sustainability is becoming a more and more important topic in today’s packaging world, Multi-Color is constantly looking for ways to make our labels as environmentally friendly as possible for our customers. Knowing that Coca-Cola has interest in reducing their environmental impact, Multi-Color approached DASANI with an innovation that would allow their labels to be thinner, yet still allow their bottle to be recycled. This solution is a monolayer label that detaches cleanly from the PET bottle in the recycling process. Their previous label technology had issues with the ink coming off the label and staining the recycling wash water. This in turn caused the PET flakes to be stained and discolored, degrading the quality of the recycled PET flake. The new monolayer labels Multi-Color produced and qualified do not stain the PET flakes and allow the flakes to be reused for subsequent moldings. The monolayer labels also offer several other benefits compared to standard 2 ply roll fed constructions. These benefits include increased sustainability, enhanced operational efficiency, and cost savings opportunities.
Sustainable
The monolayer film is more sustainable because it uses less overall material than laminated labels. In addition, it still meets the strict requirements for PET bottle recycling.
Efficient
Operational efficiency is enhanced because the thinner film allows for more labels per roll. This creates less roll changes on application equipment and more labels per pallet. Storage space is also optimized because you need less space to store a larger number of labels, creating more storage space for other things the brand could utilize.
Economic
Since more labels can fit on one pallet, this drives down freight costs and allows for more cost saving opportunities.
The DASANI labels are printed in a gravure format which provides best-in-class print quality and more consistent label length repeats for application. Moving to monolayer labels from laminated labels also offer brand teams the ability to surface print embellishments (tactile, matte/gloss, etc) which adds to the consumer’s brand experience.
Overall, the Coca-Cola team was very pleased with the final result of the Dasani monolayer labels. They were able to make several new improvements, all with one new label construction. Zen Kramer, Associate Brand Manager of DASANI commented “The transition to monolayer labels allowed DASANI to advance it’s sustainability agenda as part of a World Without Waste, while also presenting a cost savings opportunity to our business. Working with MCC allowed for a seamless transition to the new label technology and helped continue a partnership focused on innovation and efficiency.”
This project proved to be successful through great collaboration between Coca-Cola and Multi-Color Corporation. Multi-Color is happy to help Coca-Cola meet their goals and make a positive impact on our environment.
