Plastic-free and compostable fiber-based tapes are coming

Obstacles are in tape impregnating process where styrene acrylate – a petrochemical material – is used to avoid glue absorbing into the tape material and the other one is the used glue. There are already existing solutions in the market to replace glue with bioadhesive product, but previously there was no solution to avoid the use of styrene acrylate.

We have developed and patented a production method in which we have replaced the need of impregnating tape base with styrene acrylate.  Our product is called the D-tape. With bioadhesive glue, the tape is fully biodegradable and a fiber-based tape doesn’t leave any plastic or microplastic remains. D-tape is a plastic-free and environmentally friendly product.

Currently, the price is ca. 3 times higher than BOPP tapes, but if we consider tape being only a fraction of the packaging material costs – changing into plastic-free and biodegradable solutions will have a very limited price impact. According to a survey, 10% of the BOPP manufacturers are likely to change to D-tape even at the higher price and 20% of German end-users view biodegradability extremely important.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö committed to more sustainable World. Our slogan “imagine fiber” pushes us to the boundaries to challenge the limits and we will continue developing innovative products to replace plastic.

To find out more about our environmentally friendly tape, email us at: tape@ahlstrom-munksjo.com