Monadnock Paper Mills, Bennington, N.H., USA, recently announced an innovation in high performance beverage labels. Monadnock Envi® Enhanced Barrier (EB) Label with EarthCoating® is now available in a 100% post-consumer-waste fiber, bright white, smooth stock and a virgin fiber, bright white, vellum stock. 

Designed to be the next generation in wet label protection, these fiber based drop-in replacements for plastic BOPP (Bi-Oriented Polypropylene) film laminated labels offer superior aesthetics, performance, and sustainability for products subject to high-moisture conditions, such as white wines and craft beers.

Monadnock entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Smart Planet Technologies (Irvine, Cali., USA) for use of its extruded EarthCoating technology for adhesive beverage labels in North America in December 2014. With this coating, high performance labels now contain less plastic and adhesive, while offering improved opacity, brightness, and wet-strength compared with traditional BOPP film laminated labels. These properties translate into beautiful results, even after spending hours in an ice bucket.

"We have expanded our Envi EB label line offering beverage brands the option of tactile vellum virgin fiber or smooth 100% recycled fiber," said Tim Boyd, market segment manager at Monadnock. "Both of these high-performance Envi Label Stocks will retain their beauty, integrity, and brightness during the converting and bottling process and after hours immersed in an ice bucket."

"Customers are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious, so the ability for brands to offer labels with less plastic holds enormous appeal," said Richard Verney, chairman and CEO of Monadnock. "This innovation aligns well with our plastic-replacement strategy and complements our Envi Portfolio of substrates, which provides brands with sustainable options that do not require a compromise in performance or aesthetics."