Clariant expands sustainability credentials

To meet sustainability targets and fulfil commitments to the plastics circular economy, plastic products are increasingly manufactured using polymers that are compostable. Clariant’s business unit Pigments is contributing to this growth in compostable plastic articles, with a range of certified OK compost INDUSTRIAL pigments, offering customers new colouring opportunities.

Nine selected products in Clariant’s PV Fast and Graphtol ranges now feature the label OK compost INDUSTRIAL, that fully meet the requirements of the European Union EN 13432: 2000 standard when not used above the maximum concentration in the final application.

Andreas Buder, Technical Marketing Manager Plastics at Clariant, said: “We are proud of this development that is part of our strategy to offer solutions for more sustainable packaging and to strengthen our product portfolio. This certification allows our customers to use bright colours in their biodegradable products, since they are suitable for industrial composting.” 

The PV Fast and Graphtol range of pigment powders are high-performance organic pigments. Both product ranges are used in various applications in the consumer goods sector, such as sensitive food contact packaging, plastics tableware/dishware or toys.

The coloration of biodegradable polymers requires the pigments to meet certain characteristics in order to be considered compostable. For processing through organic recovery facilities, this requires a low heavy metal and fluorine content, and no ecotoxicity towards plants.