Insights

Partnering for Sustainability: Avery Dennison and SATO Collaborate on rVellum Labels

Exploring Sustainable Solutions: A Dialogue between Avery Dennison and SATO Europe on rVellum Labels

At Avery Dennison, we’re committed to contributing to a better future and enabling others to reduce their environmental footprint. To make sure we deliver solutions that the market actually wants and that deliver maximum impact, we often partner with our customers to develop innovations that answer their specific demands.

A great example of this is rVellum, a paper label construction that’s highly circular yet offers print quality and conversion performance comparable to non-recycled products. It consists of an FSC-certified facestock with 100% recycled fiber content (including waste from our own liners); an FSC-certified liner with 15% recycled content; and a hotmelt adhesive that is TUV certified for bio-based content.

rVellum was created with input from our partner SATO Europe, a global leader in labeling solutions and auto-ID technology.

We spoke with Vincent Desloges, Business Development Manager Consumables for SATO Europe, about the effect rVellum has had on their business and sustainability goals.

What is your company’s long-term vision for sustainability? How does rVellum fit into your business and sustainability strategies?

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are part of our strategy and DNA. We include environmental responsibility in our value proposition and we choose to especially focus on:

1. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

2. Efficient use of resources

3. Harmony with nature

Recycled paper solutions provided by Avery Dennison fit in really well with our vision.

Why did you choose rVellum? How does it address your challenges?

SATO is committed to improving its carbon footprint and to proposing more sustainable solutions to brands when they are available. We were looking for a more sustainable alternative for vellum facestocks and wanted to replace all the virgin vellum labels we sell to our customers with a 100% recycled solution.

When Avery Dennison launched its rMC paper facestocks, we challenged them to develop a recycled vellum alternative as well. Vellum is used for logistics and simple short-term applications, and is therefore ideal for substituting with a recycled material. Furthermore, because vellum is one of our main label products, finding a greener alternative was a great opportunity to reduce our carbon footprint.

What results have you seen from using this product? 

We are glad that Avery Dennison managed to introduce this product as it has a big impact for us and our customers. Thanks to the switch to rVellum, we expect to reduce the carbon footprint of our vellum business by the equivalent of about 140 tons of CO2 per year.

Labels produced with rVellum also deliver very good printing quality with both the ink roller used in hand labelers and thermal transfer printing, and the food contact statement aligns with that of standard vellum. Despite occasional customer skepticism regarding the use of 100% recycled material, rVellum has no defects or noticeable color differences thanks to advancements in the quality of recycled papers.

Have you experienced any additional benefits you would like to share?

The SATO team is very proud to engage in concrete initiatives to be more sustainable. A project like this confirms that SATO Europe is driving sustainable change in the label industry. Our customers are sensitive to such changes and we make sure to communicate them to our customers, suppliers, and production via all available channels.