UK | Sinclair has been announced as a finalist in The Grocer Gold Awards 2025.
The T55 label, a world first in high-speed compostable labelling, was nominated in the Sustainability Initiative of the Year (Products & Services) category. It is also the first fresh produce label to achieve dual home and industrial compostability certification.
The certifications demonstrate that T55 meets global composting standards EN 13432, AS 5810 and NFT 51-800. This achievement meant fruit labelling meets future PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) requirements.
T55 will break down and decompose to safely become part of usable soil-enriching compost and meet rigorous food safety and operational standards.
“This innovation and packaging alternative helps tackle one of the industry’s most persistent packaging issues, plastic waste at end-of-life,” said Duncan Jones, Senior Marketing Manager at Sinclair.
Available in many shapes and sizes, T55 has opened the door to a meaningful step for improving the sustainability of fruit labelling and as a minimal packaging alternative that meets retail, marketing and consumer requirements.
“Creating a ‘finished products’ certified compostable sticker to meet both home and industrial composting standards is a complex challenge. It was one we believe was essential for the future of fruit labelling and to support our customers, the fresh produce industry and consumer calls to reduce single-use plastic waste.”
Raising the performance bar in compostable labelling, Sinclair’s T55 compostable label was selected as a finalist for its pioneering approach to sustainability in fresh produce packaging. This ground-breaking product addressed a long-standing industry challenge with a certified, scalable, commercially available solution.
“With the T55 label, we wanted to set a new standard for environmentally conscious labelling in the produce industry without compromising on application performance,” said Mark Blake, Director of Customer Support & Technical Service, at Sinclair.
“We knew the solution had to work on the types of fresh produce we label. T55 had to have equivalent application performance to conventional labels to be a viable solution for our customers who have commercial targets they must achieve. It also had to work on our existing labelling systems and be durable enough for all types of environments in the packinghouses and supply chains. Being shortlisted for this award is an extremely proud moment for our team, a sign that the industry is ready for this kind of innovation.”
Celebrating sustainability in fresh produce, The Grocer Gold Awards recognise excellence and innovation across the retail supply chain. With this nomination, Sinclair has joined a short list of major brands working to reduce environmental impact through impactful product innovation.
Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in London this July.
