HERMA Grass Paper Self-Adhesive Materials

• Printable paper with 30% grass content
• A powerful eco-friendly option
• Ideal for food and cosmetics labels 

Grass – or rather sun-dried hay, to be specific – is a major component of what may well be the world‘s most eco-friendly paper. Processing these fibres for paper production is very resource-friendly and generates very little CO₂, compared with paper produced from fresh fibre or even recycled cellulose. Since 2017, grass papers have been widely used for various kinds of food packaging – and have received a lot of attention from companies committed to sustainable packaging. Made from grass paper, the new label material HERMAnature fieno (grade 340) allows users to also apply special sustainability requirements to labels. The production of HERMA’s grass paper is based on special grass pellets that are processed mechanically, requiring no chemicals. Compared to wood pulp processing, this results in energy savings of 97 percent and water savings of 99 percent. As the grass originates from domestic compensation areas, logistics expenses are also minimized, resulting in CO₂ savings of up to 75 percent. Ultimately, HERMA’s grass paper achieves considerable CO₂ savings averaging between 20 – 25 percent.

Excellent printability

The new label material HERMAnature fieno contains 30% of grass fibres and 70% virgin pulp.  In principle, it can be processed like conventional paper and offers very good printability in offset and flexo printing. As it is a natural product, its colour can vary but, combined with the material’s somewhat rougher surface, this immediately and credibly signals to the consumer that this is sustainable packaging material.  An additional advantage of the grass paper is that it contains no allergens that are subject to EU labelling requirements listed in the regulation (EU) 1169/2011, such as fish or nut products. Therefore, grass paper labels are ideally suited for use with food and cosmetics. In order to maintain this advantage, HERMAnature fieno is equipped with the 62A adhesive which is suitable for direct contact with dry and moist foodstuffs as well as fatty foodstuffs with a correction factor of 3 or more according to the regulation (EU) 10/2011. Apart from that, the 62A adhesive is a permanent adhesive for universal use with very good adhesive properties on a wide range of surfaces. Its final adhesion is very high, both on polar and non-polar surfaces (such as PE). It provides excellent water resistance and especially good resistance against light, heat, and ageing.

Contact us to find out more about HERMA’s grass paper or the company’s other innovative eco-friendly self-adhesive materials.

This article was reproduced from HERMA’s Innovative Label Materials 001 Magazine.