Finding the Most Sustainable Custom Stickers for Your Brand
Posted By on May 9th 2022
Finding the Most Sustainable Custom Stickers for Your Brand
by Saloni Doshi • published July 29, 2025 • 7 min read
Stickers and labels are everywhere. From the tiny PLU stickers on produce to the shipping labels on eCommerce packages and the product labels on bottles and jars, they’re part of nearly everything we buy. Beyond their practical uses, stickers have also become a tool for self-expression—decorating laptops, water bottles, and car top carriers—and an increasingly common piece of a brand’s unboxing experience.
But as ubiquitous and small as custom stickers are, they often become an afterthought. Many brands spend significant time making thoughtful, research-driven decisions about sustainable shipping boxes or eco-friendly mailers, yet forget to consider the sustainability of their stickers and labels.
Thankfully, that’s starting to change. More conscious brands are recognizing that sustainability should extend to every packaging detail, and even small items like stickers and shipping accessories deserve meaningful consideration.
Still, once you start digging in, you’ll realize these decisions aren’t one-size-fits-all. What material should you use? Which adhesive is best? Does the liner or ink matter? And how will the sticker perform in different applications?
Don’t worry—you’re in the right place.
Your Guide to Eco-Friendly Stickers & Labels
First, remember that the most sustainable label or sticker is to have none at all: Source reduction (i.e., using as few materials as possible) always comes first.
If you can do without a sticker or label, please do. If you can print your product information or brand story directly on your packaging (rather than using a sticker), please do!
We fully recognize the tension between sustainability, building your brand, customer experience, and the tradeoffs that smaller businesses that can’t meet the MOQs for sophisticated on-package printing need to make. So if you aren’t in a position to do away with stickers or labels in your business, read on.
There are four critical decisions to make:
- Facestock: Refers to the material of the sticker or label, and there are many different options across sticker and label companies.
- Release Liner: The material that carries the facestock with a pressure-sensitive adhesive until that adhesive is ready for its next step. It is sometimes called a backing or carrier.
- Adhesive: Cause the sticker or label to stick onto the substrate.
- Ink: Refers to the ink used on your sticker design (generally aligned with the printing method used when your sticker is produced).
Across each of these four sticker components, there are many (often hundreds and even thousands) options. The following is a menu of the most common and high-level options across those different sticker components.
| Facestock | Release Liner | Adhesive | Printing Ink |
| - Uncoated paper - Varnished paper - Coated paper - Vinyl (clear or white) - Polypropylene (clear or white) - Bioplastic - Biostone - Wood Some available in 100% recycled content. Others always virgin. | - Standard, silicone coated liner - Zero Waste liner (no silicone coating), for curbside recyclability - Plastic - Foil -- - Some available in 100% recycled content. Others always virgin. | - Acrylic emulsion - Hot melt - Rubber - Repositionable - Sugarcane - - - - Some recycle-compatible. Some certified compostable. | - Digital toner - Digital inkjet - Digital liquid toner - Flexo water-based - Flexo solvent-based - Offset soy-based - Offset solvent-based - Determined by the production method, quantity, and facestock of the sticker. |
Source: EcoEnclose
Your Most Sustainable Sticker Option
A 100% recycled (100% post consumer waste!) uncoated facestock sticker on a zero waste liner that is curbside recyclable. While water-based or soy-based ink is the most preferred ink, companies buying smaller volumes of stickers will struggle to secure the flexo or offset printing required for these ink types.
Your stickers will likely be printed with toner ink, which has some sustainable characteristics (including having no VOCs and minimal waste). Because most stickers end up recycled (or landfilled), toner ink is unlikely to cause issues downstream in the recycling process.
| 100% recycled, uncoated paper | Zero waste release liner | Acrylic emulsion, recycle-compatible adhesive | Water or soy-based ink (note: this is very uncommon and unlikely to be feasible for low volume orders) |
Source: EcoEnclose
Make Sure Your Sticker Works for Its Application
Even the most sustainable label loses its value if it doesn’t perform. If your sticker has critical functions, make sure it actually works for its intended use.
While 100% recycled paper is ideal environmentally, durability matters too. Stickers that must withstand rain, scuffing, or handling—like produce PLU labels—need to stay securely in place. Otherwise, the product might be discarded, which is worse for the environment. In these cases, coated, plastic, or industrially compostable stickers are a better choice.
Ultimately, your sticker’s face stock, adhesive, and ink should match your use case, durability requirements, and intended end-of-life. The first decision is selecting the right face stock. These visuals provide a helpful overview to guide your choice based on the durability and sustainability you need.
Eco Friendly Stickers and Product Labels
100% post-consumer waste paper stickers are available on our unique Zero Waste liner that is 100% recycled and curbside recyclable.
About EcoEnclose
EcoEnclose helps forward-thinking brands deliver on their sustainability goals with innovative, research-driven packaging solutions designed for circularity.