Products & Packaging

At tesa, sustainability is integrated into our product development and packaging from the earliest stages. We consider material choices, product design, and packaging concepts in close connection with how we manufacture, with the aim of continuously improving our environmental footprint. This includes efforts to reduce resource use and waste and to increase the use of recycled and more sustainable materials where feasible. By embedding these considerations into our processes, we work to deliver reliable performance while supporting customers in their own sustainability ambitions.

Product Sustainability

Labelling of more sustainable products

Our vision 

We have made sustainability a priority and are working on this important transformation of our business with great speed and urgency. We use our expertise and passion to develop adhesive solutions and self-adhesive products that are more sustainable. That’s why our sustainability targets are interconnected and dependent on one another.

The following five strategic action areas outline how we plan to help achieve our goals in the near future:

Reduce emissions
Source responsibly
Rethink materials
Push circularity
Support customers

Another step forward 

We are continuously working to make our products and our range more sustainable. To make our initiatives and efforts visible, we classify products as more sustainable if they fulfil at least one of the following criteria:

Use of bio-based materials: In this case, the marker is reserved for products that contain at least 50% bio-based material in one component and 30% in the entire product. In addition, all fiber-based material must be from certified sources such as FSC® (FSC® C148769).
Use of recycled material: To be classified as more sustainable, at least one component of the product – the backing, the adhesive, or the liner – must be made of at least 50% recycled material, and the total share in the product must be at least 30%.
Use of Mass Balanced Material: If content of a (bio) mass balance material is above 50% referring to a single product component (for example, the backing, adhesive or liner) and minimum 30% share in total product, it is qualified as more sustainable. However, all (bio) mass balanced materials must be certified by ISCC Plus or an equivalent certification scheme.
Recyclability: To be eligible for the classification, products must be certified as recycling-friendly or recyclable according to certifications like INGEDE Method 12 or PTS-RH 021:2012.

Since each of these criteria is clearly defined, the labelling provides a reliable indication of which of our products are already more sustainable. To ensure this is also evident to our customers, our more sustainable industry products can be identified by our Industry Marker, while our consumer products are marked with a Green Information Icon. The latter specifically indicates the feature that qualifies the product for the classification, thus offering consumers clear guidance.

A gray and white globe is partially wrapped by a long, spiraling strip of green tesa tape, with the roll of tesa tape positioned near the top right of the globe. (This text has been generated by AI)

tesa® Industry Marker

Example of Green Info Icon Consumer

tesa plans to make its adhesive solutions more sustainable

As a company, tesa is well-known for its expertise in adhesives and adhesive tape design. We will now increasingly apply this expertise to develop products that are more sustainable than ever.

In terms of product sustainability, tesa has adopted a holistic and scientific approach.

On the one hand, we develop and produce adhesive solutions that are more sustainable due to the use of bio-based or recycled raw materials in the ingredients, solvent-free production or their ability to be recycled. Also, the responsible sourcing of raw materials has become increasingly important in recent years.

On the other hand, we enable our customers to increase the sustainability of their own products and processes with our innovative products. Adhesives are more important than ever – they can reduce weight, simplify assembly, cut noise and vibration, and improve product design. Bonded materials, e.g., can be separated again if the adhesive is designed accordingly. This ground-breaking technology fosters circularity by enabling repairability, reworkability and recycling.

Product sustainability starts with the product lifecycle

Thoughtful male scientist with farm workers standing in greenhouse

There are many aspects to the sustainability of an adhesive tape. That is why tesa focuses on the entire product lifecycle – considering sustainability aspects from early development stages on until the end of the product’s life cycle. This involves looking at the procurement of the raw materials, the production stage, the product’s useful life as well as its disposal.

However, it is not always possible to improve all aspects of product sustainability at once. The variety of materials found in our adhesive tapes, which guarantee the high quality and performance of our products, cannot always be replaced with more sustainable alternatives immediately – often because they don’t even exist or are not available in the required quantity. We need to keep developing new concepts and processes over time and work closely with suppliers and partners to drive product sustainability forward.

Bio-based and recycled raw materials

tesa already uses bio-based materials such as natural rubber. Other examples include natural resins which can be added either pure or modified to adhesives made from rubbers, acrylate or other polymers.

For certain products, tesa applies the biomass balance approach. This method incorporates renewable raw materials into the production of basic chemicals, partially replacing fossil-based inputs.

We have also replaced virgin fossil-based raw materials with recycled materials such as post-consumer recycled PET in our production processes. Products like tesa® 60412 and tesa® 60418 are made with up to 90% recycled material, significantly reducing the demand for new polymers. tesa is among the first manufacturers to successfully utilize post-consumer recycled content in fabric tapes.

We also use responsibly sourced paper for backings and/or liners. The material for the new paper-based tesapack® Paper Standard adhesive tape (certified) is made with paper from sustainable sources. New products will be released each year to follow these innovations for industry and our end customers.

Product development at tesa: grounded in science and certified

All new products are developed on the basis of scientific research and undergo extensive critical testing. This ensures our products don’t only perform perfectly and – in the truest sense of the word – “do what it says on the label”, it also subjects them to various external and independent certification mechanisms, e.g. by DIN CERTCO and TÜV Austria. tesapack® Paper Standard, for example, is a tape with paper from sustainable sources and has been certified according to INGEDE 12 (International Association of the Deinking Industry) as disposable with waste paper.

tesa supports its customers in reaching their sustainability targets

tesa has made contributions to improving sustainability over many years, particularly in the field of e-mobility and smart communications. As a specialist in the development of multi-functional tapes, tesa is ready to help its partners in the automotive industry take the next steps towards e-mobility. Hundreds of high-precision products are already successfully in use, with many more currently in development. The key areas of application include, for instance, weight-saving adhesion of cells in batteries and insulating electrical components through wire harnessing.

With the development of its “debonding on demand” technology, tesa is setting new benchmarks in terms of repairability and recycling. At a time when flexibility and sustainability are becoming more and more important, this innovation makes it possible to release adhesive bonds with temperature, electricity, lasers or electromagnetic induction, without damaging the materials. This technology conserves resources and offers new opportunities for product design, production processing, repair during the use phase and recycling at the end of the product life cycle.

There is already high demand for these solutions, particularly in the electronics industry. Bond & Detach® technology, which enables mechanical separation (stretch and release), is already used in more than 1.8 billion smartphones worldwide.

In the automotive industry, reversible bonds simplify handling and support improvements during production, which reduces waste and can conserve valuable resources. “Debonding on demand” products also improve the recyclability of complex assemblies such as electric car batteries by simplifying disassembly of individual components.

tesa makes more sustainable industry solutions possible

Truly innovative: tesa's technology makes smartphone batteries replaceable

Special adhesive tapes for electric vehicles

Patch instead of plug

Advancing sustainable packaging at tesa

Packaging plays a crucial role at tesa. It protects product quality during storage and transport, supports efficient logistics, and ensures a clear and appealing presence at the point of sale. At the same time, it offers significant opportunities to reduce environmental impacts across global supply chains.

As expectations for more sustainable solutions grow, packaging needs to use fewer resources, enable recycling, and align with circular economy principles — all without compromising performance.

tesa offers a comprehensive portfolio of adhesive solutions for consumers, trade, and industrial applications. Each product requires packaging that maintains quality and protects against dust and damage while also communicating clearly to customers. Our ambition is to bring together reliable product protection with material efficiency and circular design.

Moving toward more circular materials

tesa is working to reduce plastics made from non recycled fossil sources and to increase the use of materials designed for recyclability. This includes:

prioritizing recyclable and mono material structures
integrating recycled content where technically feasible
sourcing paper and cardboard from responsibly managed forests and verified sources such as FSC® (FSC®148769)

A holistic and responsible approach

Sustainability criteria, such as recyclability, material efficiency, and lifecycle impact, are increasingly embedded in packaging development. This ensures that improvements are effective, measurable, and aligned with customer expectations.

With this approach, tesa is taking meaningful steps to make its packaging more responsible while maintaining the high quality and reliability associated with our brand.