Against the backdrop of advancing climate change, sustainability is becoming increasingly important: Industry is encouraged to develop future-proof solutions that reduce CO2 emissions. LEONHARD KURZ has been committed to environmental and climate protection for decades and is pursuing a long-term sustainability strategy. Under the motto ‘be a green leader’, the global thin film technology company from Fürth has set itself the goal of further expanding its claim to leadership in the area of sustainable product solutions and concepts. It also continues to lead the way in life cycle thinking for the future. In the future, the Business Area Security will support customers in significantly improving their ecological footprint with the help of environmentally friendly security labels. KURZ offers sustainable solutions for both paper and plastic-based labels.
Optimization options for ‘greener’ labels
Various approaches are being pursued to make security labels, which have always formed an important building block in the TRUSTCONCEPT® brand portfolio, more sustainable. The important influencing factors include the source and value chain of the materials used. Fossil raw material sources can be replaced by renewable ones, for example, by using alternative, renewable upper materials. This, in turn, leads to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Another option is the (re-)use of waste and by-products from other industrial processes and their incorporation into the layer compound of the label. What’s more, upper materials made from recycled components can be used in both the plastic and paper sector, or the material can simply be reduced to the absolute necessary minimum weight in order to improve the CO2 footprint of a product. In addition to the responsible procurement of the materials used and their suitability within the usual production and decoration processes, it is also important for KURZ that the products can be processed in the existing recycling streams.
Five new sustainable labels
In recent months, a total of five new ‘Eco Label’ variants have been created to help customers make their products more sustainable in the future, without sacrificing the quality to which they are accustomed. KURZ is also continuously working on the development of further sustainable solutions.
The KURZ Premium Eco Label, a wood-free, yet paper-like label, impresses above all with its high-quality, durable, matte-gloss surface with a soft-touch feel, 80 percent of which is made of a waste product from marble decomposition. The rPP Eco Label, a white plastic label, which is largely made from recycled packaging film, can hardly be visually distinguished from conventional standard polypropylene labels and is in no way inferior to these in terms of its known product properties. With the wbPP Eco Label, KURZ provides its customers with another sustainable alternative to conventional plastic labels. The transparent outer material used here is made with residues from pulp production and is therefore practically a wood-based plastic label.
The use of sustainable paper label solutions can also contribute to protecting the environment compared to standard materials. For the light Eco Paper Label, the use of materials has been reduced to the necessary minimum weight, which means it noticeably improves the ecological footprint. The primary energy requirement, freshwater consumption, and the emission of climate-damaging CO2 can be demonstrably reduced here. This also applies to the PCR Eco Paper Label, which is made up of 99 percent post-consumer recycled fibers, without losing any of its brilliance.
No compromise on safety or design
The new KURZ Eco Labels, which protect products against counterfeiting with the tried-and-tested TRUSTSEAL® Protect thin-film technology, are in no way inferior to the previous labels in terms of design and security. They not only ensure unambiguous authentication of the product, but also enable identification or seamless supply chain management by means of a QR code, for example.
