From PET Bottles to Sustainable Tapes: tesa Launches Recycled PET Packaging Tape

With its latest recycled PET packaging tape, tesa, the international provider of self-adhesive system solutions and manufacturer of innovative adhesive tapes, offers businesses in food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce and logistics a more sustainable alternative to the conventional polyvinyl chloride (PVC) packaging tape, and thus will facilitate the embarkation on a circular journey across the global supply chain. 

Circular and Wear-Resistant: The Recycled PET Packaging Tape

The newest tesa® 60412 is made of a waterborne acrylic adhesive system and includes a polyester backing whereby 70% of it comes from post-consumer recycling. Not only reduces tesa the consumption of virgin plastic but it has also developed a green packaging alternative to conventional packaging film tapes like PVC. tesa‘s tape is suitable for light and medium-weight packaging up to 30 kg. On top of that, recycled PET packaging tapes boast their high performance: They are comparable to PVC tapes when it comes to their elevated tear resistance – yet more sustainable. 

Thanks to their wear-resistant backing, the tapes can be adhered to recycled cardboard easily and also guarantee strong adhesion. The production process itself is completely solvent-free, as the used PET products, mostly recycled bottles, are utilized as raw material for the backing. To put it simply: Without jeopardizing the paper recycling process, the recycled PET packaging tapes can be disposed together with the packaging in the wastepaper, and therefore will contribute to a circular economy. 

In terms of printability, the tesa tapes are compatible with all kinds of ink systems, and hence logos and advertising can be printed onto the tape itself. In addition, the tapes are low-noise, as they are being used. 

Andreas Walkembach, Head of Industrial Trade & Converting Europe at tesa, unveils the company’s vision behind its launch of the eco-friendly packaging tape:

„The development of products that help promote sustainability is a strategically important goal for tesa. Our new tesa® 60412 PET packaging tape was therefore developed in a way that reduces environmental pollution as much as possible and at the same time guarantees high performance. By choosing a more sustainable packaging tape, our customers can get one step closer to their goals. We at tesa are proud to support them on this journey.“

We commit our upcoming drupa 2024 to sustainability. Are you as keen as we are on the green packaging innovation proposed by tesa? Feel free to share your thoughts below in the comment section.