According to Netherlands-based European adhesive label industry association Finat (The Hague; www.finat.com), demand for self-adhesive label materials in Europe increased 7% to almost 8.5 bn m² in 2021, following an increase of 4.3% in 2020. While demand in 2020 was still driven by increased requirements from the food, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries, sales in the second and third quarter of 2021 were said to be driven by strong economic recovery.

However, in addition to general supply-chain disruptions, manufacturers have been concerned about ongoing union strikes at a speciality paper mill in Finland and a supplier plant in Spain since the beginning of 2022. According to data from the Hague, these mills are responsible for more than 25% of the paper used to produce materials for printing, finishing, and cutting self-adhesive labels in Europe, Finat president Philippe Voet said.

With the support of the European industry association, leading label manufacturers recently joined forces in the recycling initiative CelabEurope (www.celabglobal.org/about/celab-europe – see Plasteurope.com of 03.11.2020). The initiative has medium-term goal of developing a sustainable circular business model for over 75% of the substrates and labels used in Europe by 2025.