It’s not just kids that love stickers. Adults have found many uses for stickers around their homes and business. At home, stickers are a great way to jazz up the interiors as well as to provide handy labels for shelves, containers, and cupboards. Large vinyl stickers are used for wall, cupboard and window décor.

Stickers at Home

Homeowners also use vinyl stickers on their car windows or as bumper stickers. These stickers can support your favorite team, proclaim religious or political beliefs, or showcase the social justice causes close to your heart.

Stickers in the Workplace 

Businesses depend on stickers for cheap advertising which can be stuck on delivery vans or other vehicles. Businesses use stickers as affordable personalization as well as to promote their products or services in various ways. Stickers are a great marketing medium and a cost-effective promotion tool. They are also important in labeling products and goods as well as envelopes and packages.

Vinyl and Paper Stickers

Vinyl stickers are often the stickers of choice for both home and business owners these days. This is because of their greater longevity. Vinyl stickers are better able to withstand the vagaries of the weather such as rain or snow. Moreover, color in vinyl stickers does not fade over time and this material is easy to wipe clean.

Paper stickers are often bought for kids to cover notebooks and folders as well as a more cost-effective alternative to vinyl stickers for businesses. Paper stickers are easy to print in large quantities at very little cost.

Eco-friendly stickers 

Eco-friendly personalized stickers are always the best option. Especially if you are going for a sustainable lifestyle and reducing your carbon footprint. You get all the benefits of stickers without the burden of responsibility that comes with paper and vinyl stickers. ‘What is the problem with vinyl or paper stickers?’ you ask. Read on to learn about the downside to stickers and eco-friendly alternatives. 

The downside to stickers

The more climate-conscious among sticker lovers have long been aware of the harmful effects of stickers on the environment. This increase in greenhouse gases, climate change, and continued environmental depreciation means that people are willing to go out of their way to find eco-friendly sticker solutions. While stickers are cheap to process, they exert a high environmental cost during production.

Hard to recycle 

This is true for both vinyl and paper stickers. Paper stickers may be laminated and be hard to recycle. Vinyl stickers are made with many different layers which each require a different recycling process. These layers can include polypropylene film, silicone, or PET plastic resin. The low-quality paper backing of the paper stickers is also not accepted for recycling because of its coating as well as the fact that the lowest quality papers give the lowest yields.

A sticky state of affairs 

The adhesive used on the backs of stickers is also one of the spanners in the works of recycling stickers. While the adhesive is recyclable, it goes hard on the recycling machine, effectively clumping up and gluing together or clogging up the recycling process. This can increase repair and maintenance costs for the machines used for recycling. Most recycling centers do not accept even plain paper stickers for this reason.

Are stickers biodegradable?

Sadly, no. Vinyl stickers are not biodegradable. Like all plastics, they can live for hundreds of years. The vinyl does, however, breakdown into thousands of tiny vinyl particles that can spread in the soil and end up in the waterways. As we all know by now, these plastic particles in rivers and lakes end up being a menace to marine life. In-fact one of the reasons for the decline in marine life in rivers and lakes is due to the ingestion of these plastic pollutants which can kill fish.

Eco-friendly stickers for my business

As a responsible person, you probably want to invest in fully biodegradable and eco-friendly stickers. Thankfully that is now an option. Eco-friendly stickers are produced from sustainable sources and are designed to last well for a limited time before melding back into the environment.

These eco-friendly stickers are as visually and esthetically appealing as vinyl or paper stickers. Moreover, while these stickers do not cause any of the environmental damage associated with these mediums, they are long-lasting enough to be suitable for a variety of different situations.

Materials used in eco-friendly paper 

Materials used in eco-friendly stickers include

• Hemp
• Sugar cane fiber
• Wood-free paper
• Sustainable wood sources  
• Recycled paper
• Non-GMO materials
• Linen
• A water-based acrylic adhesive with strong bonding properties

Features of eco-friendly stickers can include the following 

• PVC free
• Silicone free
• Compostable
• Recyclable
• Fully biodegradable
• Can be cleaned
• Designed to last for a specific time outdoors before beginning the decaying process
• The lifetime of biodegradable labels can range from six to nine months to two years or longer depending on the type of eco-friendly sticker
• Labels are made from paper without any environmentally harmful layers of coating
• Labels are made from chlorine-free paper
• Water-based acrylic adhesive is fully biodegradable

Why opting for Eco-Friendly Stickers at home and your business is the right choice for you and your planet 

Eco-friendly labels and stickers mean that you are making the right choices for yourself and your planet. When you choose to go green by opting for eco-friendly stickers for all your labeling and sticker needs, you are doing well for your environment.

Build awareness and a positive image

You can also build awareness about the availability of eco-friendly options in stickers by displaying them on your product labels or packages. Moreover, you are sending a clear signal to your customers and clients that you are a responsible, aware, and concerned citizen of this world. This gives a positive impression of your business to potential customers.

Going green in every way 

Eco-friendly and environmentally conscious companies should decide to go green and invest in eco-friendly stickers to complete their green credentials. Recycled boxes, envelopes, and packages can be made to come to life with a few strategically placed eco-friendly stickers and labels without compromising your principles.

Conclusion

After reading the article, you may decide that you care enough about the health of our planet to forego traditional sticker options. If that is the case you can check out the eco-friendly sticker collection here. Visit now and get an instant quote.

Eco-friendly stickers are the healthy option for our planet while allowing us to indulge in our love of personalizing our world with stickers.