Sleever’s LDPET® rewarded for its contribution to the circular economy.

Each year,the AWA International Sleeve Label Awards recognise the world’s most innovative sleeve products (heat-shrink labels). The award for environmental contribution was recently given to Sleever for its LDPET® product, the first full-body sleeve to enable enhanced recyclability of PET bottles.

The only full body sleeve compatible with clear PET bottle recycling

Developed exclusively by Sleever®, LDPET® has assisted brands with their ecological transition since 2014. Because of its technical characteristics, it is the only full-body sleeve on the market enabling closed-loop recycling of PET bottles thus increasing rPET feedstock.

“The recyclability of a clear PET bottle is dependent on the properties of its associated components: caps and closures, labels and sleeves. Separation of these components is necessary to give recycling compatibility”, adds Sofiane Mameri, Sustainability Director at Sleever®. LDPET® is approved and recommended since 2014 by the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP) and the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) in North America. Each project is accompanied by a certificate from Sleever in line with test methods published by these organisations.

The LDPET certificate confirms that the brand’s product conforms with all the stages of material sorting and reprocessing. The sleeve’s composition and density enable the bottle to be correctly identified during optical sorting and then easily separated from the clear PET flakes by floatation in a water bath. The inks used on the sleeves are non-washable and non-bleeding, therefore, during the washing stage inks remain on the sleeve and do not pollute either the wash water or the recycled material

No compromise for brands’ creative ambitions

With the Sleeve Label Award for Environmental Contribution, the AWA jury has recognised LDPET’s sustainable character coupled with its ability to maintain a brand’s identity with premium decoration. A sleeve label follows the contours of even the most complex container like a second skin, making it a highly adaptable solution and allowing great creative freedom.

These attributes make sleeve labels a favoured choice for brands in a broad range of international markets. The bottled water market is one of the most demanding in terms of technical constraints, volumes, quality and transparency. Amongst others, Evian, Volvic and Nestlé have already chosen LDPET to enhance their bottle design.

About Alexander Watson Associates

Since 1971, AWA (Alexander Watson Associates) has been helping companies in the packaging industry to make the right decisions by providing industry-specific market intelligence. AWA is still the only global market research and consulting services company with a unique packaging industry focus and has the depth of knowledge and expertise for it to be known as the “expert to ask”.

About Sleever®

Visionary creator and global reference in heat-shrink sleeve labels, Sleever® offers bespoke solutions for product decoration and contract packing, for protection and promotion of the most demanding brands in such varied markets as Wines and Spirits, Cosmetics, Pharmacy and Food. Its expertise in the complete value chain, from film formulation to engineering solutions, by way of the various print and finishing processes and the design and manufacture of machines and associated services, guarantees highly accurate and sophisticated results which are both stable and durable.

Over the last 40 years, the group has nurtured rigour and creativity, supporting innovation and product excellence with sustainability as a core value. It has contributed to the development of reusable or recyclable packaging solutions.

Take a look at the Award ceremony HERE