Sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have for label buyers – it’s the starting point for brands and converters wanting a dependable solution.
Sustainability issues for self-adhesive label solutions just got serious thanks to far-reaching new EU regulations. Meanwhile, oil price volatility has become a fact of life for anyone relying on fossil-based label solutions. These developments are shining a spotlight on high-performance paper-based solutions such as Sappi’s new Parade Face Edge grease-resistant label grade.
Brands being able to tell a strong sustainability story has long been a competitive as well as corporate advantage. This year something has changed. For brands wanting label solutions to help them stand out on the shelf, that sustainability story has acquired a whole new imperative.
A self-adhesive label solution with robust sustainability credentials is no longer a nice-to-have add-on in 2026. Thanks to two at-first-sight-unrelated factors, it’s become a straightforward must-have.
The first factor is regulation. The EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) – which came into application on 12 August – has rewritten the rules for packaging and labels. Now, food-contact packaging containing PFAS – so-called ‘forever chemicals’ – above defined thresholds can no longer be placed on the EU market. At the same time, all packaging must be recyclable, with design-for-recycling grades tightening within four years. For label buyers, that means recyclability and clean chemistry have ceased being largely optional. They're much more like entry requirements.
The second factor has arrived with less of a lengthy build-up and discussion but with similarly significant consequences. The unprecedented oil price volatility set in motion in February by war in the Middle East and the on-off closure of the Strait of Hormuz has served as a sharp, costly reminder of how fossil-derived film solutions sit on top of a vulnerable naphtha/oil cost base.
Put the two together and one direction of travel becomes clear. ‘Paper-first’ where possible is now both the responsible and commercially shrewd way to go.
Paper-based label solutions stand apart by offering solutions designed to support PPWR recyclability requirements plus a predictability of cost and security of supply that comes decoupled from oil flow fluctuations thousands of miles away from Europe.
Brands and converters sometimes used to see the case for paper as resting on sustainability alone. These days, economics and logistics are making the same argument. All at a time when regulations are becoming ever more stringent.
says Jan Hasselblatt, Head of Sales Self-Adhesives Sappi Europe
What credible label sustainability means
‘Sustainable’ is a word that has to be earned. And just like consumers, today’s buyers, retailers and regulators know the difference between a mere claim and a genuine credential. For paper-based self-adhesive labels such as Sappi’s market-leading Parade Face range, credible sustainability rests on solid foundations:
- Recyclability. Sapp’s paper-based, self-adhesive label papers are designed for recyclability. Most grades can be recycled through conventional paper recycling streams, while wet-strength (WS) grades are recyclable through a specialised recycling process.
- Future-ready product design. Self-adhesive label papers developed without intentionally added PFAS support brand owners in preparing for increasingly stringent regulatory requirements.
- Certified fibre. Sappi’s self-adhesive label papers are available on request as FSC Mix Credit (FSC™CO15022) or 100% PEFC certified (PEFC/07-32-76). Forest certification schemes such as these promote responsible forest management and demonstrate Sappi’s commitment to protecting biodiversity, preventing deforestation and creating a forest-positive future.
- A strong back-story. Sappi Europe’s EcoVadis platinum status places it in the top 1% of companies assessed by the global ratings service after rating the corporate sustainability practices of hundreds of thousands of companies worldwide.
A greaseproof challenge – and a barrier papers head start
Oil- and grease-resistant papers have long leaned on fluor chemistry to do their job. With PFAS now restricted in food-contact packaging, the task here is to deliver the same protection without them – and this is where the label industry faces one of its most interesting tests.
Drawing on more than a decade of expertise built up in its flexible packaging papers – where integrated barrier solutions against grease, oil, moisture and oxygen are already well established – Sappi is applying this know-how to self-adhesive label papers.
The result is Parade Face Edge, a grease-resistant label grade developed without intentionally added PFAS for demanding applications such as oil- and grease-sensitive food labelling.
The new paper was developed for demanding applications where grease and oil exposure is a constant challenge, such as olive oil bottles and other food packaging labels. While many conventional grease-resistant label papers rely primarily on a surface barrier, this approach can be vulnerable when oil reaches the label from the cut edge. In real-life use, oil running down a bottle can penetrate the edge of the label, bypassing the surface protection and compromising appearance and performance.
Parade Face Edge takes a different approach. Its grease barrier is built into the paper structure itself, so helping to protect the label not only from the surface but also from edge penetration.
This integrated barrier concept has demonstrated significantly improved resistance to oil penetration compared with standard market offerings, making Parade Face Edge a standout solution for premium oil- and grease-sensitive labelling applications.
We weren’t starting from scratch. At Sappi, we've spent more than a decade perfecting barriers in our flexible packaging papers. Bringing that expertise into label papers – and doing it PFAS-free – was a natural next step.
says Jan Hasselblatt
Sappi as the partner of choice
Meeting the new sustainability baseline is one thing. Doing it without sacrificing the shelf impact a brand is seeking is another – and here’s where the choice of partner makes a final, huge difference.
Sappi's Parade Face range of self-adhesive facestock papers is proven to deliver on multiple fronts. These are premium, high-gloss, semi-gloss and matt papers engineered for the convertability, printing, die-cutting and dispensing that brand owners and converters have come to expect from a partner like Sappi.
“Sustainability shouldn’t come at the cost of on-shelf impact – and it doesn't have to,” says Jan Hasselblatt. “With Sappi’s Parade Face range of solutions, brands get the print and finishing quality they demand from a certified, recyclable paper they can rely upon – in multiple ways.”
Parade Face Edge sample material can be requested via your Sappi sales manager or via the website product enquiry form
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