BARCODING LABELLING & PACKAGING
D
espite well-documented toxic properties, certain bisphenols are still legally permitted industrial chemicals used in the production of thermal papers in the UK, such as for receipts and package labels.
Whilst Bisphenol A (BPA) has been restricted in the UK since 2020 for thermal labelling, a study found that manufacturers are substituting BPA for Bisphenol S (BPS), which is considered to have equally harmful properties. In a market where bisphenol-free thermal paper is readily available, is it not time for the government to implement a blanket ban on all bisphenols in the UK?
WHAT IS THE ISSUE WITH THERMAL LABELS?
As any expert in labelling will know, there are two types of thermal labelling: direct thermal and thermal transfer. Thermal transfer labels use a wax ribbon that transfers an ink to the paper surface that will not deteriorate and is used for barcodes, labels on shop items and anything that needs to last.
The issue lies with direct thermal labels. This paper has a special coating that turns black when heated by the head of a printer and the coating stops the ink from smudging, making it ideal for receipts and address labels on ecommerce packages. It is cheaper and more convenient to use because there is no ribbon or cartridge to replace, although the coating will deteriorate over time.
Previously, the industrial chemical BPA was commonly used for this coating, but is now frequently replaced with another bisphenol, BPS.
BACKGROUND OF BISPHENOLS IN THE UK BPA is an extremely harmful chemical and recognised globally as an Endocrine Disrupting Chemical (EDC), which means it affects the normal hormone function of people and wildlife. BPA has been linked to cancers, infertility, angina and other medical conditions in humans by altering the production of oestrogen. A study published in 2022 showed the widespread exposure of the population, with 92 per cent of adults from 11 European countries having BPA in their urine.
In the UK, BPA has been banned from baby for humans and toxicity to aquatic life. Since then, a series of restrictions and bans have been introduced on the use of BPA, including in toys, plastic bottles, coated packaging
WHY BISPHENOLS HAVE HAD THEIR DAY IN LABELLING
By Josh Pitman, Managing Director of Sustainable Packaging at Priory Direct
containing food and latterly restrictions in thermal paper. However, in relation to thermal paper, the use of BPS and other bisphenols is still unrestricted, with evidence suggesting that many manufacturers have instead moved to using BPS.
The use of BPA in manufacturing in the UK has been under review since 2022, with the review expanding in February 2024 to include other bisphenols which have a similar hazard
WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM?
Previously, industrial packaging used limited labelling, but with the exponential growth of ecommerce, the volume of thermal paper in use on packaging for address labels has risen the amount of bisphenol in circulation. Not only is this potentially harmful to the couriers and online shoppers handling their parcels, but the recycling process cannot entirely remove this dangerous chemical and so it ends up in our waterways and ingested by sea life. You then have the risk of bioaccumulation, whereby chemicals lingering in the tissues of these sea creatures are consumed by predators and travel up through the food chain and back onto our tables.
In 2023, the number of packages delivered in the UK was estimated at 5 billion, and growing
22 MAY 2025 | FACTORY&HANDLINGSOLUTIONS
every year. The majority of these will have a 6-inch by 4-inch address label on them. In a rough calculation, this is enough direct thermal paper to go around the circumference of the Earth 19 times every year.
WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
Currently, shoppers can’t be sure when they are coming into contact with these toxic chemicals and how much our oceans are exposed to. A complete ban of all bisphenols is surely the answer, but the government isn’t moving fast enough.
Environmentally friendly, phenol-free thermal labels, which are manufactured without the use of bisphenol chemicals, are readily available, harmless and naturally biodegradable. Alternative coatings perform the same function as bisphenols, which is to prevent the ink on labels from smudging, so that the address details remain legible. but stringent regulation is necessary to ban bisphenols entirely from use so it can no longer risk causing harm to people and planet.
Priory Direct
www.priorydirect.co.uk
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