Sustainable Water-Based Labeling Adhesives Explained

AJ Adhesives – Sustainable Labeling with Water-Based Adhesives

February 25, 2026

Designing for Recyclability Without Sacrificing Performance

Following our recent focus on sustainable hot-melt labeling adhesives (Sustainable PET Bottle Labeling with Hot Melt Adhesives), it’s important to recognize that sustainability in labeling isn’t only in one category of adhesives. Sustainable water-based labeling adhesives are emerging as a critical innovation category—especially where fiber recovery, wash-off performance, and regulatory alignment are top priorities.

In modern packaging operations, water-based labeling adhesives must accomplish the same core goals as their hot melt counterparts:

Maintain label integrity through filling, distribution, and shelf life
Support efficient recycling or fiber recovery processes
Run cleanly and consistently on high-speed labeling equipment

The difference lies in how they are engineered to achieve those outcomes.

This blog explores why sustainable water-based labeling adhesives matter, what makes H.B. Fuller’s Earthic™ PWL 2048 and Henkel‘s LG-45C unique, and how AJ Adhesives helps manufacturers evaluate sustainable labeling options with real production conditions in mind.

Why Sustainable Water-Based Labeling Adhesives Matter

Sustainable packaging discussions often focus on substrates—recycled content, lightweighting, or mono-material design. But adhesives play a critical role in whether that packaging performs as intended in recycling or fiber recovery systems.

Sustainable water-based labeling adhesives are commonly used in:

Bottle labeling (glass and select plastic formats)
Paper and paperboard labeling
Cut-and-stack labeling systems
Applications where fiber recovery compatibility is important

As a water-based bottle-labeling adhesive, this chemistry forms bonds through water evaporation and absorption into the substrate rather than heat-induced solidification. That mechanism allows water-based systems to offer advantages such as:

Lower application temperatures

Reduced thermal stress on substrates
Compatibility with paper recycling streams

In fiber-based recycling systems, adhesives that do not disperse or release appropriately can create stickies, contamination, and downstream quality issues. For this reason, packaging engineers increasingly evaluate recyclable labeling adhesives as part of the packaging design process.

Industry guidance continues to emphasize design-for-recyclability principles, including adhesive behavior during wash and repulping stages. Sustainable packaging adhesives must therefore perform both in production and at end-of-life.

For sustainability teams, adhesive selection is no longer a background decision—it is a structural design choice.

What Makes Earthic™ PWL 2048 Unique – H.B. Fuller

H.B. Fuller® Earthic™ PWL2048 is a water-based beverage-labeling adhesive designed specifically for returnable-bottle systems. It is positioned for glass and coated glass applications, with suitability for PET.

Earthic™ PWL2048 is formulated with:

High wet tack
Fast drying properties
Fast set and aggressive bonding
Ice-water resistance for up to 72 hours
Clean machining performance with no slinging or pallet build-up

One of its defining characteristics is wash-off performance in returnable bottle washers. The product is described as:

Caustic washable
Designed to wash off with less caustic and at lower wash temperatures
Easily cleaned from pallets using lukewarm water

This combination allows bottlers to maintain strong label hold in ice baths and cold environments while still enabling efficient removal during bottle washing.

Technical Data (Earthic™ PWL2048)

Viscosity (at 85°F): 45,000 cP
Solids: 35%
pH: 8.5
Recommended substrates: Glass and Coated Glass
Suitable substrate: PET

The product is also positioned as offering improved mileage and fast drying to help reduce downtime and adhesive consumption on high-speed beverage labeling lines.

Interested in learning more about Earthic™ PWL 2048? Click here to request information!

Introducing Optal® LG-45C – Henkel

Henkel Optal® LG-45C (also/now referred to as AQ LG-45C) is a synthetic polymer water-based labeling adhesive developed as a replacement for traditional casein-based labeling adhesives in returnable glass bottle systems.

It is designed specifically for:

Bottle labeling on glass containers
High-speed rotary labeling equipment
Returnable beverage bottle applications

Optal® LG-45C is supplied ready for use and meets FDA requirements for indirect food contact.

Technical Data (Optal® LG-45C)

Viscosity: 35,000 cPs (Brookfield, 76°F)
Solids: 44%
pH: 8.3
Application Temperature: 70°F to 85°F
Dry film: Clear
Shelf life: 6 months

Performance Characteristics

Henkel positions LG-45C as offering:

Excellent machinability on high-speed rotary labelers
Strong pattern control
Higher mileage compared to conventional casein adhesives
Fast set and aggressive tack
Strong fiber tear

In brewery testing environments, LG-45C is documented to pass ice-proof testing after extended cure cycles. It is also engineered for removability in returnable-bottle washing systems, demonstrating caustic wash-off performance under standard bottle-washer conditions.

Cleaning can be performed with water, and the adhesive dissolves in mildly alkaline cleaning solutions.

Interested in learning more about Optal® LG-45C? Click here to request information!

Earthic™ PWL2048 & Optal® LG-45C: Manufacturer-Documented Performance Overview

Both adhesives are:

Water-based synthetic labeling adhesives
Designed for beverage bottle labeling
Suitable for returnable bottle systems
Capable of passing ice-water resistance testing
Removable in bottle washer systems

Key documented differences include:

Earthic™ PWL2048 has lower solids (35%) compared to LG-45C (44%)
Earthic™ is positioned around reduced caustic and lower-temperature wash-off capability
LG-45C emphasizes replacing casein systems with improved machinability and mileage

Both products are engineered to balance label hold during cold storage and ice exposure with removability during bottle washing, which is a critical requirement in returnable glass systems.

Design for Recyclability: Why Early Evaluation Matters

Sustainable adhesive selection is most effective when addressed during packaging design—not after production issues arise.

Key evaluation factors include:

Label substrate type (paper vs. film)
Container material (glass, PET, fiber-based)
Recycling stream target (fiber vs. plastic)
Line speed and compression timing
Environmental exposure (humidity, condensation, cold storage)

As packaging formats evolve—especially with increased fiber-based packaging and hybrid material formats—adhesive compatibility becomes more complex.

Evaluating adhesives like Earthic™ PWL 2048 and Optal® LG-45C allows:

Sustainability teams to document design intent
Production teams to validate runnability
Purchasing teams to understand total cost-of-use impact

How AJ Adhesives Helps You Evaluate Sustainable Water-Based Labeling Adhesives

At AJ Adhesives, we approach sustainable labeling as a system—not a product swap.

Our role is to help you evaluate:

Current adhesive performance and coat weights
Label substrate compatibility
Recycling stream requirements
Line speed and compression conditions
Storage and environmental variability

Whether you are transitioning from a conventional water-based adhesive or evaluating Earthic™ PWL 2048 or Optal® LG-45C for a new packaging platform, we support:

Product sampling and validation
On-line performance trials
Troubleshooting moisture and drying variables
Collaboration between production and sustainability teams

As with any adhesive technology, performance is shaped by real production conditions, not just technical data sheets. Our goal is to ensure that sustainability objectives align with consistent, repeatable production-floor performance.

The Bottom Line for Sustainable Water-Based Labeling Adhesives

Sustainable labeling is not exclusive to hot melt technologies. Sustainable water-based labeling adhesives are advancing, and products like Earthic™ PWL 2048 and Optal® LG-45C represent meaningful innovation in designing for recyclability while maintaining production-level performance.

For manufacturers balancing operational efficiency with environmental responsibility, sustainable water-based adhesives offer:

Compatibility with fiber-based recycling
Lower thermal application requirements
Reliable labeling performance on appropriate substrates

Sustainability only works when it works on your line.

If your team is evaluating sustainable labeling adhesives—whether hot melt or water-based—AJ Adhesives is ready to help you assess your application and identify solutions that support both performance and recyclability.

Interested in learning more about Earthic™ PWL 2048? Click here to request information!