UPM Kymmene Oyj : Raflatac partners with Vellamo for bottled water industry’s first and only wood-based clear plastic label material

UPM Raflatac is partnering with Vellamo, Finland's award-winning natural mineral water for a truly innovative sustainable label. Vellamo's bottles feature UPM Raflatac Forest Film PP^TM, the world's first and only wood-based polypropylene plastic label material. This transparent label material is constructed from UPM BioVerno naphtha, a 100 percent wood-based solution made from tall oil, a residue of pulp production, originating from sustainably managed forests.

'This is an ideal collaboration to showcase how labels matter when it comes to sustainable packaging,' says Timo Kekki, Vice President, Films Business, UPM Raflatac. 'Our innovative labeling material answers brand owners' needs to replace traditional fossil-based virgin materials with renewable ones.
The collaboration with Vellamo is an excellent example of how we are labeling a smarter future beyond fossils together with our partners.'

Forest Film PP offers companies like Vellamo an efficient and impactful way to reach beyond their sustainability goals without compromising on product performance. It is made from 100 percent renewable wood-based raw materials in an ISCC certified value chain and has identical quality and performance as conventional fossil-based films.

'Vellamo is one of Mother Nature's perfect creations and we're excited to share how we've taken great measures to ensure our unique taste, purity and sustainability for the health of our customers and planet by achieving a neutral carbon footprint across production, packaging and logistics,' says Petteri Ahonen, CEO, Ice Age Water Ltd.

Vellamo adheres to strict natural mineral water standards to maintain its official seal of approval and high-quality status of being naturally pure, unique in taste, bottled at the source, and containing no environmental pollution or added minerals or sweeteners. The high-quality, sustainable label is an integral part of the Vellamo water brand and supports Vellamo's CO2ZERO Sustainability Program which aims to reduce CO2 emissions during the product's lifecycle to zero.

The label also features UPM Raflatac's RafMore, an innovative smart label solution that allows consumers to scan the label unique to every Vellamo bottle and access real-time product lifecycle and carbon footprint data. UPM Raflatac recently expanded its Forest Film product range with the industry's first wood-based polyethylene label film for home and personal care labeling applications.

Click to read the Vellamo case study »

Click to download images of Forest Film»

For further information please contact:
Timo Kekki, VP, Films SBU, UPM Raflatac tel. [phone]

UPM, Media Relations
Mon-Fri 9:00-16:00 EET
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UPM Raflatac
UPM Raflatac is leading in sustainable labeling through our innovative self-adhesive label materials and services. We offer high-quality paper and film label stock for branding and promotion, informational labels, and labels with functionality. We operate a global network of factories, distribution terminals and sales offices. Our company employs around 3,000 people and made sales of EUR 1.6 billion (USD 1.8 billion) in 2019. UPM Raflatac is part of UPM. Find out how we are labeling a smarter future beyond fossils at www.upmraflatac.com.

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UPM Biofuels produces renewable and sustainable products for the transport and petrochemical industries. We offer our customers ways to replace fossil raw materials and reduce their carbon footprint. UPM's innovative, bio-based products are frontrunners in quality, usability and sustainability. www.upmbiofuels.com

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Vellamo
Vellamo Finland's only natural mineral water from the last Ice Age - 10,000 years ago, completely pure and unique in taste with perfectly balanced minerals, and containing no environmental pollution. Since launching in 2017, Vellamo has received international recognition for its taste and design: German Design Award 2020 Winner; Red Dot Design Award 2019 Winner; Fine Waters Design Award 2019 Gold; and 2019 Innobev Taste Award.

Pronounced 'vel-emo', its name originates from Finnish mythology - goddess spirit of water. A Global Water Study by UNESCO and World Water Council ranks: Finland #1 World's Best Drinking Water; and Vellamo #1 Finland's Cleanest & Purest Drinking Water. In 2019, the Vellamo C02ZERO Sustainability Program was introduced to reduce CO2 in process and product lifecycle to zero. Vellamo is owned and operated by Ice Age Water Ltd. headquartered in Heinola, Finland.
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