Why Museums Are Finally Ditching Plastic Badges (And You Should Too)

Let’s be honest—no one is inspired by a plastic name badge.
They curl, they fall off, and they leave a trail of non-recyclable regret behind.

At Plan It Green Printing, we’ve worked with museums across the country to replace wasteful plastic stickers with something better: dissolvable, compostable-minded, and 100% recycled badge labels. Easy for your staff. Better for the planet.

And unlike the dinosaurs your visitors are there to see—these stickers won’t be around for the fossil record.

What’s Wrong with the Old Stuff?

• Made from vinyl or laminated paper

• Can’t be recycled or composted

• Ends up in landfills—or worse, still clinging to a park bench in 2045

Plus, let’s not pretend pulling old stickers off benches, signage, and floor tiles is a good use of your team’s time. it stand out

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What We’re Offering Instead

Our museum clients are switching to sustainable badge and wristband options that still look sharp and hold up to a full day of exhibits:

• Dissolvable stickers made from wood cellulose (non-toxic, water-soluble, and compostable in practice—though not certified)

• 100% recycled paper sticker options

• Wristbands made from either 100% recycled paper or EarthFirstPLA Certified Industrial Compostable stock

• Customizable in full color

• Can include variable data (visitor names, QR codes, timed-entry, etc.)

• Available in colors that don’t scream “We just learned about sustainability last week.”

Water-soluble Admission Badges. Disappears without a trace.

Why Museums Are Saying Yes

Visitors love the message. Staff love the simplicity. Operations love the cleanup.
But here’s the important part: not all compostable labels are created equal.

At Plan It Green Printing, our EarthFirstPLA stickers are Certified Industrial Compostable—meaning they’re tested in the controlled environment of a regulated industrial composting facility, and proven to break down within a verified time frame.

Why not home compost? Because it’s not a consistent standard. You may be a master composter and I may forget to turn the pile for a month. A banana peel might disappear in your pile in weeks, but a PLA label might sit in mine for years. So we don’t make vague claims—we use certified materials, certified inks, and optionally certified adhesives. And we tell it like it is.

Still clinging to plastic? No judgment. But we’ll be here when you're ready to let go.