The company believes that the development of the new copolyester, designed specifically for shrink labels on packaged goods, will be a boon for manufacturers.
"The marketplace has been asking for a shrink label that is more recycle-friendly than materials currently available," said John Ouwerkerk, global market development manager, shrink resins.
" Embrace High Yield copolyester helps to address that need."
It is the addition of microvoids - tiny air pockets produced in the manufacture of shrink labels - that makes the new copolyester so innovative. These can dramatically change the density and other properties of the resulting shrink films and labels.
It is claimed that films made from Embrace High Yield provide up to 40 per cent more labels per pound compared to films made of Embrace High Shrink resin, Eastman's current shrink resin.
Another strength of Embrace High Yield is that it can be produced to have a specific gravity below 1.0, meaning that such labels can be separated from more-dense materials such as PET containers in conventional recycling streams.
Ouwerkerk also claims that Embrace High Yield produces films and labels with a soft, cool touch and that, when applied to containers, produce a bottle that is quieter when squeezed.
"Soft touch is an appealing, winning proposition both for food and beverage brand owners and for consumers who demand that the products they buy feel good as well as look good," said Ouwerkerk.
Another perceived benefit is that shrink labels made from Embrace High Yield offer greater opacity compared with other shrink-label materials and can be made brilliant white. This, says Ouwerkerk, reduces reliance on ink coverage or UV inhibitors to protect container contents from damaging ultraviolet (UV) light.
The developmental Embrace High Yield copolyester complements Eastman's existing Embrace High Shrink copolyester, which Ouwerkerk claims has been eagerly adopted in the marketplace.
Films produced from both Embrace High Shrink and Embrace High Yield exhibit maximum shrinkage values approaching 80 per cent at 95°C with an onset shrinkage temperature of 65°C.