Increasing tackifier costs are impacting adhesive manufacturers, raising the obvious question of whether there are cheaper options. After considering the physical and chemical constraints of the tackifier system used in any formulation, it's clear that are some new and neglected old chemicals that can help. Strongly increasing tackifier prices through 2009 and 2010 have impacted adhesive manufacturers, in particular in pressure-sensitive and hot-melt markets. For example, strong demand and limited supply has seen gum rosin prices effectively double since February 2009. The most obvious immediate response to this is to look at alternative suppliers and alternative feedstocks. However, while some market pressures are regional, others are global, so the chances of finding cheaper supplies are limited. So what options are there to use different feedstocks?