Innovation and sustainability were the key topics addressed by speakers at a technical seminar organised by FINAT, the European association promoting the interests of self-adhesive labelling. This biennial 'meeting of minds', held in March 2012 in Barcelona, brought together the entire value chain of the European self-adhesive label industry, and provided a powerful opportunity for everyone from raw material supplier to brand owner/end user to identify issues and pinpoint possible new directions for self-adhesive labels.

A history of labelling covering all types of label and substrate, including early cans and wine bottles, set the scene for an examination of the self-adhesive label's relatively-short 77-year history, during which this technology has become a top provider of product identification and decoration. Today, self-adhesive labelling is facing increasing competition from alternative technologies in both its main marketplaces: primary product labels and logistics/variable information print.

Regulatory issues impact the label industry, with its extended value chain and the complex structure of the self-adhesive label 'sandwich' of facestock, adhesive, and release liner. Developments in REACH, the European chemicals legislation, were discussed. The same is true of food safety -- particularly in relation to packaging inks and their migration - and the seminar covered best practice in making a choice of printing ink.

Recycling, and the recyclability of self-adhesive label components are an area where FINAT is extremely active and had much to report and discuss. A signatory to the European Declaration on Paper Recovery and a participant in the Consumer Goods Forum's Global Packaging Project (GPP), FINAT has established a recycling project group, and is actively promoting and raising the awareness of the importance of recycling for the label industry, as well as positively demonstrating the suitability of siliconised paper and film liner for recycling.

The recycling and re-use of siliconised release liner is the self-adhesive label industry's first-line concern in the recycling arena, and the subject of much activity. The seminar also looked at the topic of the current resurgence in the use of linerless labels - both for their environmental credentials, and as a specialist technology for retail priceweigh food prepacks complementing mainstream labelling.

Overall, the message was that the self-adhesive label industry must continue to innovate to meet brand owners' needs because it is the consumer brands that, through the last 250 years, have driven, and will continue to drive, labelling in all its applications - from decorative to informative, from promotional to durable. The proceedings provided evidence that the industry has every intention of continuing - through innovation and sustainability initiatives - to meet the requirements of leading brand owners and retailers, now and in the future. (For details, contact: FINAT Jules Lejeune / Taco Zevenbergen, Email: jlejeune@lejeune.nl)