Labelling

Smaller label producers "still struggle hugely" with sustainability issues, according to industry association Finat, which is offering members a programme of online seminars in 2008.

Finat managing director Jules Lejeune said European label converters would face "more environmental challenges" in the years ahead, but smaller firms still had problems with "taking the environment into account".

"Not only will firms be pressured by law makers, but customers will also demand clean and transparent methods and products," he said.

Larger firms, said Lejeune, had already "developed strategies to cope".

The "cyber clinic" on sustainability, which takes place on 31 March, is the first in a series of four webcasts over the course of the year. Future topics are likely to include technology and the industry's structure.

The webcast is being produced in conjunction with IVAM, a Dutch institute for research and consultancy on sustainability.

The seminar programme forms part of Finat's 50th anniversary celebrations, which include a congress in Paris on 19-20 June.

For more information on Finat, visit www.finat.com.