Avery Dennison Corp. Fastener Solutions, Fitchburg, Mass., has introduced the bio-PP Fastener, a tag fastener for the apparel industry made using a proprietary blend of polypropylene (PP) material designed to degrade in under a year when exposed to soil
without leaving any microplastics or harmful substances behind. The company reports a typical PP fastener can take 20 to 30 years to break down.
“Plastic fasteners, which attach price tags and other product information to garments are on 90 percent of the approximately 80 billion garments manufactured each year and that adds up to a whole lot of plastic — the equivalent of the same amount of plastic found in 761,581,156 single-serve 0.5 liter PET water bottles,” said Dan Riendeau, senior marketing manager, Global Packaging and Retail, Avery Dennison Fastener Solutions. “Brand owners and retailers are increasingly seeking ways to reduce their environmental footprint and this product innovation helps to do that.
As a materials science innovator, we’re excited to grow this product line and offer our customers more options and a solution that is not dependent on consumer recycling behaviors.”
September/October 2020
