121H V2 Criteria

Eco Mark Product Category No.121“Returnable Containers / Packaging Materials Version2.4” Certification Criteria

Category H Other containers and packaging materials
Japan Environment Association
Eco Mark Office
1. Purpose of Establishing Criteria
Omitted.
2. Applicable Scope• Containers and packaging materials other than those in A-G(less than 70% in weight to the whole product as a major material)

3. Terminology
Omitted.
4. Certification Criteria and Certification Procedure
To show conformance to the individual criteria, the Applicant shall submit therespective Attached Certificate forms duly filled in.
In the event re-examination under the present Certification Criteria is sought fora product that is already certified in the Product Category 121 “Returnable Containers
and Packaging Materials Version 1,” the certifications procedures 4-1. (2), (3), (5), (8),(10) and (15) may be substituted by filling in necessary items on the AttachedCertificate form and declaring further therein that no alternations have been made to
the product already certified.
4-1. Environmental Criteria and Certification Procedure(1) An average product shall be repeatedly used at least five times.
[Certification Procedure] * Certifier: Applicant
The Applicant shall submit a document indicating that the actual average
number of recycling uses of a product is five times or more (for new products, thedata for comparable products may be submitted instead).
(2) The product shall be designed so as to be used repeatedly.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant or a third party body
The Applicant shall submit a certificate to show the product designed so as to be
used repeatedly by a third party or company design documents describing:
1. Strength (This item is not applicable for “pottery and earthenware(Criteria) 1/12

121H V2 Criteria

containers”.)
2. Cleaning characteristics (applicable only for containers)
3. Label’s adhesive or removable characteristics (for those products requiring
attachment or removal of a label after each reuse)(3) A product collecting (reusable) system shall be established, and this fact shall bemade known by marking or information disclosure.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
The Applicant shall submit the following:
1. A document describing a system or a product collecting route to make a product“reusable”
2. A document or photos illustrating a container (if any) in which products are
put for transportation
3. Marking or information disclosure stating that a product is “reusable”(4) In manufacturing the applied product, related environmental laws andregulations and pollution control agreement (hereinafter referred to as the“Environmental Laws, etc.”) must be followed with respect to air pollution, watercontamination, noise, offensive odor, and emission of hazardous substances in thearea where the plant performing the final manufacturing process is located.
In addition, the state of compliance with the Environmental Laws, etc. for the past
five years from the date of application (whether there is any violation) must bereported. If there is any violation, proper remedies and preventive measures shallhave been already taken, and the related Environmental Laws, etc. must thereafter
be followed appropriately.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Final product manufacturer
With respect to the compliance with the Environmental Laws, etc. in the area
where the plant performing the final manufacturing process is located, acertificate issued by the representative of the business of manufacturing theapplied product or the relevant plant manager (entry or attachment of a list ofnames of the Environmental Laws, etc.) must be submitted.
In addition, the applicants shall report whether there is any violation in the past
five years, including a violation subject to administrative punishment oradministrative guidance, and if there is, the following documents in a and b mustbe submitted:
a. With respect to the fact of violation, guidance documents fromadministrative agencies (including order of correction and warning) andcopies of written answers (including those reporting causes and results ofcorrection) to such documents (clearly indicating a series of communication);(Criteria) 2/12

121H V2 Criteria

b. Following materials (copies of recording documents, etc.) concerning themanagement system for compliance with the Environmental Laws, etc. in1)-5):
1) List of the Environmental Laws, etc. related to the area where the plant islocated;2) Implementation system (organizational chart with roles, etc.);
3) Bylaws stipulating retention of recording documents;
4) Recurrence prevention measures (future preventive measures);5) State of implementation based on recurrence prevention measures (resultof checking of the state of compliance, including the result of onsite
inspection).
(5) Of printing ink used on a product (product labels, etc.), substances restricted by
the Japan Printing Ink Maker's Association's "Self-imposed Controls on Printing Ink
for Food Packaging Materials (Negative List Control)" shall not be added asprescribed components.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
The Applicant shall state in the Attached Certificate that the product complies
with Negative List regulations.
(6) The product shall not use plastics containing halogens in its polymer backbone. If
any such plastic is used, 70% or more of it shall be material-recycled.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
The following shall be stated in the Attached Certificate:
1. Use or non-use of plastic materials in the product2. In the event of affirmative answer to 1 above, use or not of plastics containing
halogens in its polymer backbone in the product3. If the answer to 2 above is affirmative, a document assuring proper material
recycling after disposal shall be submitted. The Eco Mark Office reserves theright to collect reports on the recycling ratio (or conduct an audit) after
conclusion of the license agreement, and the applicant hereby agrees tocooperate for these purposes.
(7) The product whose content is food, cosmetic containers, or medical related
products shall meet the requirement of harmful substances described in theStandards for Foods, Food Additives, etc. (Ministry of Health and Welfare Notice No.
370, 1959). For the paper portion, it shall not contain fluorescent substances and
PCB. However, this requirement does not apply for wood/bamboo materials.

(Criteria) 3/12

121H V2 Criteria[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Third party testing body, Applicant,manufacturer, etc.
The Applicant shall submit test results to certifying that the products do notcontain the corresponding harmful substances.
For the paper portion, test results shall be submitted regarding the following
three points.
1. Test methods for devices or containers and packaging materials using
fluorescent substances (Kanshoku No. 244, May 8, 1971)
2. Test methods for devices or containers and packaging materials using
fluorescent substances (No. 0107001 issue notice by the Director of theStandards and Evaluation Division, Department of Food Safety and No.
0107001 issued by the Director of the Inspection and Safety Division,
Department of Food Safety, January 7, 2004)
3. PCB analysis methods in containers and packaging materials (Kanshokuka
No. 385, October 26, 1972)(8) The amount of the material, such as throw-away attachments, of products which
is discarded during distribution or after use shall be smaller than or equal to that ofcomparable one-way containers and packaging materials (this requirement does not
apply to the coating (e.g., full-shrink) to protect glass surfaces (such as straw wovenbags)). However, this requirement does not apply if there are no one-way containers
or packaging materials to be compared with.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
A document prepared by the applicant shall be submitted that explains thegeneration of label, cap and other wastes during the phases of distribution, use
and consumption is less than or equivalent to that generated by comparable
one-way containers or packaging materials.
4-2.

Material Criteria and Certification Procedure

The materials “A” through “G” the shares of which in the product (container orpackaging material) by weight first exceed 70% when added in descending ordershall satisfy the below-mentioned criteria “A.” though “G.”, respectively.
A. Glass materials(9) Additives, such as coloring agents, used in the product shall not contain cadmium,lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, arsenic, selenium or their compounds asprescribed components. Provided, however, additives, such as decolorizing agents,
used in colorless glass bottles or in colorless lightweight glass bottles shall notcontain cadmium, lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, arsenic or their compounds
as prescribed components.

(Criteria) 4/12

121H V2 Criteria[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant （Applicant and manufacturer if
the product is a glass bottle of other color or a lightweight glass bottle of othercolor.）
Use or non-use of the aforesaid substances shall be stated in the attachment.
With respect to glass bottles of other colors and lightweight glass bottles of othercolors, furthermore, the composition data or Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
issued by the manufacturer of the additives (such as coloring agents) shall be
submitted in addition.
B. Plastic materials(10) No ozone-depleting substances including substitute CFCs shall have beenused in the manufacture of the product.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
A certificate showing that no ozone-depleting substances including substitute
CFCs have been used at the time of manufacture shall be submitted.
(11) With respect to products which are intended as containers for food, cosmetics,
medicine-related products and the like and for which plastic materials are used, theplasticizers, colorants, stabilizers, lubricants and other plastics additives shallconform to the positive list system of food utensils, containers and packaging, etc. In
case of using the plastic additives which are not listed in the positive list for the
products other than food utensils, containers and packaging, those color materials or
plastic additives shall meet the requirements described / prescribed in ISO 8124-3,
laws or voluntary standards in the industry etc..
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Manufacturing process manufacturer or athird party testing body
The Applicant shall submit certificates that the plasticizers, colorants,
stabilizers, lubricants and other plastics additives used in the products which areintended as containers for food, cosmetics, medicine-related products and the like
conform to the positive list system of food utensils, containers and packaging, etc.
With respect to color materials and plastic additives not listed in the Positive
List, the results of tests to show the conformance to the requirements describedin ISO 8124-3, laws or voluntary standards in the industry, etc. shall be
submitted.
(12) Cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium, mercury, or their compounds asprescribed components shall not be added.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Certification to indicate not to add chemical substances as prescribed(Criteria) 5/12

121H V2 Criteria

components during manufacturing process shall be submitted.

(13) With respect to products which are intended as containers for food, cosmetics,
medicine-related products and the like shall not be added the substances classified
as Groups 1, 2A and 2B by IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) as
prescribed components. However, it excludes the chemical substances to use for the
purpose of making polymers by polymerization reaction (ex; polyvinyl monomer,
styrene).
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Fill in the attached certificate that if the applied product falls under this criteria
item or not. In the case that the product falls under this criteria item, document
certifying that the products do not contain chemical substances described in eachcriteria item as prescribed components during manufacturing process shall be
submitted.
(14) The parts of different construction materials shall be separable at the time ofdisposal.

Provided, however, this separation performance shall not be required if

the product is made of FRP.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Documents explaining that the product can be separated into parts of different
construction materials at the time of disposal shall be submitted.
(15) Products made of FRP, in case of failure, shall be repairable.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Documents indicating the address, repair methods and the capability of the
facility shall be submitted.
(16) The product shall be marked to facilitate recycling. To indicate a type ofpolymers, a symbol of JIS K 6899-1 or ISO 1043-1 is used, and regarding to theindicating method, it shall follow the JIS K 6999. Though the above mentioned
display method is basically followed, it is possible to substitute it by the display thatis obligated by other laws, etc. In addition, for the product to use multiple types ofpolymers, the indication such as “R-PE, PP, PS” can be used. In case to use three ormore types of polymers, indicate the top two polymers and the rest can be omitted.
[Certification Procedure] Applicant
Photographs and/or design drawings to show the contents and the labeled portionof indication shall be submitted.

(Criteria) 6/12

121H V2 Criteria

C. Paper materials(17) No chlorine gas shall be used in the pulp bleaching process.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Manufacturing process manufacturer
Certificates issued by the paper manufacturer shall be submitted.
(18) The materials used in the container shall not be those listed in Table 1.
Table 1

Materials Not Suitable for Recycling

Category

Container material

Processed paper

Colored paper, fancy paper, resin-impregnated paper (except
for water soluble), parchment paper, tarpaulin paper, wax
paper, cellophane, synthetic paper, carbon paper, non-carbon
paper, heat-sensitive paper, pressure-sensitive adhesion paper,
printing

paper,

sublimationtransfer

printing

paper,

heat-sensitive foamed paper, scented paper
Special ink

Heat-sensitive ink, desensitizing paper, magnetic ink,
sublimation ink, foaming ink, scenting ink[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Person in charge of each manufacturing
process
Non-use of any of the materials listed in Table 1 shall be stated in theattachment.
D. Wood/bamboo materials(19) With respect to products for which adhesives or additives are used or decorative
finishing is made, the prescribed components and their respective weightpercentages shall be reported[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant and raw material supplier
The prescribed components shall be specified in the attachment.

Furthermore,

addition or not of the substances in question shall be stated in the attachment.
(20) Products do not contain preservatives (termicides, pesticedes and fungicides) as
prescribed components.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Addition of the chemical substance, whether it is used or not, shall be indicatedon the attached certificate..
E. Metal materials(21) The construction materials of the product (for example, steel or aluminum) shall(Criteria) 7/12

121H V2 Criteria

be easily recognizable at the time of recovery for recycling.

The ratio of material

recycling for other uses shall be documented and submitted.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Photographs and the like showing the section that indicates the identification of
the product construction materials shall be submitted. A document describingthat the product is in fact directed for material recycling shall be submitted.
F. Pottery/earthenware(22) The content of hazardous materials in products shall satisfy the requirements ofsix substances in (attached) Table 5 (December 26, 2002, Environment Ministerial
Ordinance No. 29); cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium, arsenic, mercury, andselenium.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Third party testing body
Documents certifying test results implemented by third party testing bidies or
public institutions shall be submitted.
G. Fiber materials(23) Various types of finishing to the product (fungicidal, fluorescent, softener, hygienic,
product bleaching, flame retardant/resistant) shall be kept to the minimum
required and maximum care shall be taken to prevent excess application offinishing. Use of finishing agents that are suspected of their safety to humanhealth shall be refrained. Provided, the finishing of wool products by the use of
dieldrin or DTTB shall conform to the provisions of Ordinance No.34 of the
Ministry of Health and Welfare, in addition to the aforesaid general attention tofinishing[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant and manufacturing process
manufacturer
Finishing or non-finishing of the product shall be stated in the attachment.

If

any finishing is given, the identity of finishing agents, their dosage and otherinformation shall be reported in accordance with the attachment. With respect towool products, finishing or non-finishing by the use of dieldrin or DTTB shall be
stated, and if affirmative, conformance to Ordinance No.34 of the Ministry of
Health and Welfare shall be shown.
(24) The amount of free formaldehyde shall be no more than 300 ppm by the test
method prescribed in Ordinance No.34 of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Provided this criterion shall not apply to products that are used outdoors only.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant or a third party testing body
Test results for every different fabric pursuant to Ordinance No.34 of the(Criteria) 8/12

121H V2 Criteria

Ministry of Health and Welfare shall be submitted.

(25) With respect to the colorants used in the product, no azo dyes that are likely togenerate one or more of the amines listed in Table 2 through reduction
decomposition of one or more of their azo radicals, no carcinogenic dyestuffs listed inTable 3, and no skin-sensitive dyestuffs listed in Table 4 shall have been added asprescribed components. Except for wool fibers, no chromic dyestuffs shall have been
added as prescribed.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Manufacturing process manufacturer
A certificate issued by the general manager of the dye-house for the product shallbe submitted.

Table 2Amines that should not be generated by reduction decomposition of azo
radicals
CAS No14-amino diphenyl

92-67-1

2

Benzidine

92-87-534-chloro-o-toluidine

95-69-242-naphthyl amine

91-59-85

 amino azo toluene

97-56-3

62-amino-4-nitrotoluene

99-55-87p-chloroaniline

106-47-8

8

2,4-diamino anisole

615-05-4

94,4’-diamino diphenyl methane

101-77-9

10

3,3’-dichloro benzidine

91-94-1

11

3,3’-dimetoxy benzidine

119-90-4

12

3,3’-dimethyl benzidine

119-93-7

13

3,3’-dimethyl-4,4’-diamino diphenyl methane

838-88-0

14p-cresidine

120-71-8

15

4,4’-methylene-bis-(2-chloroaniline)

101-14-4

16

4,4’-oxydianiline

101-80-4

17

4,4’-thiodianiline

139-65-1

18

 toluidine

95-53-419

2,4-toluilene diamine

95-80-7

20

2,4,5-trimethylaniline

137-17-721

 anisidine

90-04-022

4-aminoazobenzene

60-09-3(Criteria) 9/12

121H V2 Criteria

Table 3

Carcinogenic dyestuffs

CAS No.

NameColor Index569-61-9

C.I. BASIC RED 9

CI 42500

2475-45-8,

C.I. DISPERSE BLUE 1

CI 64500

3761-53-3

C.I. ACID RED 26

CI 16150

6459-94-5

C.I. ACID RED 114

CI 23635

2602-46-2

C.I. DIRECT BLUE 6

CI 22610

1937-37-7

C.I. DIRECT BLACK 38

CI 30235

573-58-0

C.I. DIRECT RED 28

CI 22120

C.I. DISPERSE YELLOW 3

CI 11855

Table 4Skin-sensitive dystuffs

CAS No.

Name

2475-46-9

C.I. DISPERSE BLUE 3

12222-75-2

C.I. DISPERSE BLUE 35

Color Index
CI 61505

C.I. DISPERSE BLUE 106
C.I. DISPERSE BLUE 124
2832-40-8

C.I. DISPERSE YELLOW 3

CI 11855

730-40-5

C.I. DISPERSE ORANGE 3

CI 11005

C.I. DISPERSE ORANGE 37
2872-52-8

C.I. DISPERSE RED 1

CI 111102475-45-8

C.I. DISPERSE BLUE 1

CI 64500

3179-90-6

C.I. DISPERSE BLUE 7

CI 62500

3860-63-7

C.I. DISPERSE BLUE 26

CI 63305

C.I. DISPERSE BLUE 102
C.I. DISPERSE ORANGE 1

CI 11080

C.I. DISPERSE ORANGE 76
2872-48-2
119-15-3

C.I. DISPERSE RED 11

CI 62015

C.I. DISPERSE RED 17

CI 11210

C.I. DISPERSE YELLOW 1

CI 10345

C.I. DISPERSE YELLOW 9

CI 10375

C.I. DISPERSE YELLOW 39
C.I. DISPERSE YELLOW 49
Reference: International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)
National Toxicity Program (NTP)EU Directive 76/769/EC(Criteria) 10/12

121H V2 Criteria

EU Directive 2006/61/EC
Ecological and Toxicological
Manufacturers (ETAD)
Oeko-Tex STANDARD 100

Association

of

Dyes

and

Organic

Pigments(26) Each construction material shall be separable at the time of disposal.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Applicant
Documents showing that each construction material is separable at the time ofdisposal shall be submitted.
4-3.

Quality Criteria and Certification Procedure(27) The quality of the product shall conform to the following conditions (a) to (c). In
case that the product functions as part of equipment such as a printer, the Applicant
shall certify the fact that repeated use of the product would not disrupt its
performance by the following conditions (a) to (c).
(a) For the product which is applicable to quality criteria such as JIS, it shallconform to the quality criteria.
(b) For the product which is not applicable to (a) on the above, it shall conform to thevoluntary quality standards of the industry.
(c) For the product which is not applicable to (a) or (b) on the above, there shall be
in-house quality standards for quality management.
[Certification Procedure] Certifier: Third party testing body or Applicant
The Applicant shall submit test results regarding quality criteria of the productbased on the applicable laws, JIS standards, voluntary standards, etc. or a copyof a certification issued by a JIS certified plant.

5. Product Classification, Indication and Others(1) Product shall be applied by a returnable business operator.
(2) An application shall be made by applicable scope of this product category, by
structured returnable system unit, or by brand name (including structured
returnable system name). Classification by size or color is not performed.
(3) In principle, the Eco Mark shall be indicated on the product, etc. The licensees of
Eco Mark Utilization Contract who own the Eco Mark products shall also beallowed to use the indication and the certification number as before.

(Criteria) 11/12

121H V2 Criteria(Note for the indication)*For indicating the logo, Eco Mark certification number (eight-digit number) or thename of the licensee using the logo shall be appeared.
* Such expression as “Eco Mark product” can be used following the 2.(2) of the
Guide to Eco Mark Usage.
“Eco Mark product”, “#Eco Mark”, “www.ecomark.jp”, “Eco Mark Certificate”*In accordance with “Environmental Labeling Guidelines” of the Ministry of theEnvironment of Japan, etc., the environmental claims of certified products may
be indicated in association with Eco Mark
(https://www.env.go.jp/policy/hozen/green/ecolabel/guideline/)*The Guide to Eco Mark Usage shall be followed for any cases not listed above.
(https://www.ecomark.jp/office/guideline/guide/)

July 2, 2007:

Established(Version 2.0)

August 21, 2008:

Revised (4-1(4) Version2.1)

March 1,2011

Revised (5 Version2.2)

July 13,2012

Revised (5 Version2.3)

March 15, 2016

Extension of Expiration

April 1,2019Revised (5. (3) Mark indication)

March 1, 2021

Extension of Expiration

February 1, 2023

Revised (4-1.(6),(11) Version2.4)

June 30, 2027

Expiration date

The Certification Criteria for the Product Category will be revised when necessary.

(Criteria) 12/12