Eco-logical Marketing

Growers and retailers have long used tags to woo the consumer to a plant. Now, thanks to the big green brush that’s painting marketing efforts in practically every commercial setting, the horticulture industry is finding ways to use tags to communicate its concern for the environment.

It’s hardly a newsflash that green industry leaders are seeking sustainable products to support their green efforts. What is headline-worthy is the fact that tag and label manufacturers have responded with new choices, from degradable plastic to paper substrates.

Out of the landfill
Western Tag & Label  (www.west.hort.com) recently launched its EnviroFlex tree tag and EnviroStake pot stake, both made of degradable polypropylene. “We introduced this eco-friendly line of tagging material because degradable polypropylene maintains its integrity through its functional life-span, but once it finds its way to a compost pile or landfill, it disintegrates in a 1- to 5-year time frame,” said Jeremy Block, sales manager at Western Tag & Label. “Traditional material simply sits in a landfill for generations.”

Polypropylene is great for curb-side recycling programs, which allows the grower and the retailer to appeal to the consumer’s green side. “Polypropylene provides better print head life for those utilizing thermal transfer printing,” Block said. “And it provides better durability in both cold weather and general in-pot longevity.”

Multiple solutions
MasterTag (www.mastertag.com) has spent the past few years curtailing waste so excess tags aren’t thrown away at the end of a growing season. “We have some programs where customers only get exactly the number of tags they need, which eliminates overages and keeps the tags out of the waste stream,” said Joe Fox, sales and marketing director at MasterTag. “The price of a tag is tied to how many plants you produce, and we have been decreasing the minimum order price from 5,000 and 10,000 increments down to increments of 1,000.”

The company also introduced its EVO line of sustainable tags, which includes a recyclable stake label and a group of biodegradable hang labels, display signs, handles and bench strips.

The stake label is made of recycled plastic, and the No. 6 plastic is recyclable. Fox estimates MasterTag will use almost 1 million pounds of recycled plastic that could otherwise end up in a landfill. Custom-shape, non-locking stake labels can be made from the recycled/recyclable material.

The biodegradable products include an additive that enables microbes to attach to, and then to consume, the plastic.

This means the only thing left after the process is complete is carbon dioxide and water. The EVO line does not measurably degrade from conventional product usage or in storage, according to MasterTag.

Focus on materials
John Henry (www.jhc.com) developed five materials that can be used in particular products, including stake tags, hang tags, carriers, signs and posters. “We wanted to make materials available and give growers a choice,” said Jon Luea, product development manager for grower plastics at John Henry. “This is a custom program.”

The materials are:
• EcoRecycle – contains high recycle content with an outdoor life of 9-12 months. It can be recycled where No. 6 plastic is accepted.
• EcoHarvest – is a bio-plastic made of corn. It degrades in 90 days in an industrial composting facility.
• EcoEarth contains no wood fiber or petroleum products and it’s manufactured without water. It degrades in 9-12 months.
• EcoFiber – is made of 86 percent wood fiber. It degrades in a year or more and it has an outdoor life of 4-8 weeks. It’s recyclable anywhere paperboard is recycled.
• EcoPaper – is made from non-plastic, renewable raw material. It degrades in 9-12 months and has an outdoor life of 4-6 months.

These materials cost more, but the plants and the package all have value, Luea said. The company is working to bring one of these five materials into its standard product line.
John Henry offers a stake tag in five different materials, three of which are recyclable. John Henry’s sustainable tags add value to the plant and to the packaging.
Look for the symbol. Recycling is a major push for John Henry. Last fall, the company partnered with plastics tray manufacturer Blackmore Co. to promote recycling of styrene plant tags. John Henry also is one of the first companies to participate in GOEX Corp.’s closed-loop plastic recycling program.

With proper handling procedures in place, plastic scrap can be collected, recycled, enhanced with virgin raw material and extruded into a functional, printable plastic sheet that customers can use over and over again.
John Henry currently prints on three types of virgin plastic material. When the GOEX program is fully implemented, John Henry expects to recycle 30-40 percent of its production scrap polystyrene.

Luea would like to see recycling centers set up at all garden centers. “If every pot and plant tag were marked with the appropriate recycling symbol, customers could take their used pots and tags back to the retailer to be recycled,” he said.

A clear vision
Horticultural Identification Products (www.hiplabels.com) launched its sustainable products, the EcoTag and BioTag, in 2007. The EcoTag is degradable, and manufactured using wind power as one energy component. This rigid tag retains its integrity until buried in a compost pile or placed in a landfill. The BioTag is made of biodegradable plastic that includes corn and soybeans, rather than fossil fuel-based resins. HIP’s Repel tag is made of a paper substrate that contains 30 percent post-consumer waste.

SATO goes green, too!