Toyobo develops PET films with a thickness of 12µm
July 13, 2012 - Japan
Toyobo has recently been successful in increasing the usage ratio of recycled PET bottle plastic to 80%, the highest level in the world, and has developed CycleClean™, a lineup of PET films with the thickness of only 12µm.
Background for Development
We developed the thin film using recycled PET bottle plastic for PET bottle labels, and started selling it in 2010 under the brand name CycleClean™.
Previously, manufacturers of these films had attained a thickness of 18µm with a plastic recycling ratio of 60%. However, as a result of improvements in production processes, Toyobo has been successful in raising the plastics recycling ratio to 80%, the highest in the world, and has reduced the thickness of these films to only 12µm. Toyobo has been selling CycleClean™ films for use as PET bottle labels since 2010, but is now expanding its use to items other than PET bottles.
Features of Films Made from Recycled Plastics
By making use of materials manufactured and supplied by a recycled plastics company capable of supplying high-quality recycled materials, Toyobo has achieved the following results: (1) By raising the recycled plastic ratio to 80%, which as previously mentioned is the highest in the world, Toyobo has been able to reduce the volume of CO2 emissions by 40% in comparison with materials that do not use recycled materials and expects to conserve petroleum resources. (2) However, the physical properties are the same as those of materials that are made without using recycled plastics.
Outlook
Toyobo plans to further expand sales of this material for use in PET bottle labels as well as extend the scope of usage to include printing base materials and laminating materials, which are fields where Toyobo already has a large market share in Japan. Looking ahead, Toyobo has set an annual sales goal for this project of ¥1 billion.
Background for Development
We developed the thin film using recycled PET bottle plastic for PET bottle labels, and started selling it in 2010 under the brand name CycleClean™.
Previously, manufacturers of these films had attained a thickness of 18µm with a plastic recycling ratio of 60%. However, as a result of improvements in production processes, Toyobo has been successful in raising the plastics recycling ratio to 80%, the highest in the world, and has reduced the thickness of these films to only 12µm. Toyobo has been selling CycleClean™ films for use as PET bottle labels since 2010, but is now expanding its use to items other than PET bottles.
Features of Films Made from Recycled Plastics
By making use of materials manufactured and supplied by a recycled plastics company capable of supplying high-quality recycled materials, Toyobo has achieved the following results: (1) By raising the recycled plastic ratio to 80%, which as previously mentioned is the highest in the world, Toyobo has been able to reduce the volume of CO2 emissions by 40% in comparison with materials that do not use recycled materials and expects to conserve petroleum resources. (2) However, the physical properties are the same as those of materials that are made without using recycled plastics.
Outlook
Toyobo plans to further expand sales of this material for use in PET bottle labels as well as extend the scope of usage to include printing base materials and laminating materials, which are fields where Toyobo already has a large market share in Japan. Looking ahead, Toyobo has set an annual sales goal for this project of ¥1 billion.