blog by Hassan Rmaile, President & CEO of MCC Label

I have always been drawn to the challenges (and opportunities) our industry faces. While we have some uphill battles to climb to gain the alignment needed across the full value chain, I see clear leadership steps we will take to make impactful change happen in the short, medium and long terms.  

Together, let’s bust these two myths: 

1. “Labels are only a miniscule part of the equation and there are bigger fish to fry.” 
   Instead of treating the label as an afterthought of the packaging redesign strategy (given its size and weight), think of it as the “forethought.” Labels provide a powerful, undeniable emotional connection or passport between brands and consumers. They enable high value-creating packaging eco-designs that directly correspond with improved recyclability, post-consumer recycled content, and lower emissions. This is a case where starting ‘small’ can have a substantial impact. 

2. “Plastic is universally bad, so we need to migrate to a new substrate unconditionally & ASAP.”   
   It is critical to remain technology- and substrate-agnostic when co-developing optimal packaging solutions. To deliver the most holistic E2E sustainable design is to deliver the lowest carbon footprint. Many current perceptions are emotionally based, leading to greenwashing and misrepresentation of claims, proving that we need to converge on facts and science-based decision-making to bring the most sustainable & highest-impact labeling solutions to market. 

Rmaile is one of the panelists of the industry panel who will discuss today's challenges of the label industry. Make sure not to miss it!