Eco Mark Product Category No. 129“Recycled Soap Made from Cooking Oil, etc.
Version1.8”
Certification Criteria- Applicable ScopeSoap products based on the “Standard Commodity Classification for Japan”
issued by the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts andTelecommunications.

(Limitedtothosenotcontaining

any

surface-activating agent other than pure soap constituents)

Established: July 1, 2004

Japan Environment Association

Revised: February 1, 2023

Eco Mark Office

Expiration date: June 30, 2030
NOTE: This document is a translation of the criteria written in Japanese. In theevent of dispute, the original document should be taken as authoritative.

129 V1 Criteria

Eco Mark Product Category No.129“Recycled Soap Made from Cooking Oil, etc. Version 1.8” Certification Criteria
Japan Environment Association
Eco Mark Office
1. Purpose of Establishing Criteria
Used cooking oil after being used in households, etc. poses as a substance
polluting water when disposed from the kitchen sink. Cooking oil can be disposed byprocessing using absorbents, etc., but there are also efforts led by civic groups,
welfare organizations, etc. to recycle cooking oil into soap for such purposes as theprevention of water pollution, promotion of recycling, environment education, etc.
In 1989, the Eco Mark Office established soap made by recycling used cooking oil as
Product Category No. 11 “Recycled Soap Made of Cooking Oil” under the Eco Mark
Program and has been promoting such efforts.
This time, in the overall assessment conducted based on the product life-cycle
concept promoted since 1996, this product category was reviewed from the aspectsof effective use of resources, prevention of water pollution, and chemical substances,etc., and soap recycled from used cooking oil was once again taken up as a productcategory of the program.

2. Applicable Scope
Soap products based on the “Standard Commodity Classification for Japan”
issued by the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts andTelecommunications. (Limited to those not containing any surface-activating

agent other than pure soap constituents)

3. Terminology
Recycling

Indicates material recycling. Does not include energy
recovery (thermal recycling)

Used cooking oil

Cooking oil disposed after use as a product. This also
includes used cooking oil refined and processed into fat acid.

Used soap

Solid soap offered as amenities and wasted as left-over soap
in a hotel or Japanese inn. This also includes used soap

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129 V1 Criteria

refined and recycled to fat acid.
Plastic

Materials composed of single or multiple polymers andadditives,

fillers,

etc,

which

providespecificcharacteristics.
Polymer

Macro molecules, serving as the main components ofplastic.

Prescription

Components intentionally added with the purpose ofconstituents

providing specific characteristics to the product. Impurities
which are inevitably mixed during the manufacturing
process are excluded.

4. Certification Criteria and Certification Procedure
To show conformance to the individual criteria item, the respective AttachedCertificates shall be submitted.
4-1. Environmental Criteria and Certification Procedure(1) The product shall contain raw material fat into which used cooking oil(including used soap) is mixed at the ratio higher than those shown in Table 1.
Table 1 Mixing Ratio of Used Cooling Oil in Raw Material Fat
Soap TypeRatio

Powder soap, solid soap

70%

Liquid soap

50%

[Certification Procedure]
A flow diagram showing collection of used cooling oil to production, rawmaterial supply certificate issued by a raw material supplier (collector), anddocument certifying a mixing ratio of used cooking oil.
(2) 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 the2/6129 V1 Criteria

past five years from the date of application (whether there is any violation) must
be reported. If there is any violation, proper remedies and preventive measures
shall have been already taken, and the related Environmental Laws, etc. must
thereafter be followed appropriately.
[Certification Procedure]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 thepast five years, including a violation subject to administrative punishment oradministrative guidance, and if there is, the following documents in a and b
must be 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)

tosuchdocuments(clearlyindicating

aseriesofcommunication);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
is located;
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(result of checking of the state of compliance, including the result ofonsite inspection).
(3) Products shall be shipped in simple packaging at the retail stage.
If using plastic for packaging, material composition shall be labeled in accordancewith ISO11469. Labeling of material composition can be omitted if complying with
“Measures for Plain Container and Packaging”, “Measures for Container andPackaging Imposed with Physical Restrictions such as Insufficient Indication

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129 V1 Criteria

Space”, “Labeling Requirements and Methods for Multi Container and Packaging”,“Measures for Packaging Printed with Corporate or Brand Names”, “Measures forExported Products” related to the discriminating mark item in the “Container
Packaging Identification Labeling Review Committee Report (Ministry ofEconomy, Trade and Industry, July 2000).
[Certification Procedure]
The packaging state and material used at the retail stage of the product(percentage of recycled material used) and material composition labelingdetails shall be described specifically in the Application Form for Eco Mark
Certification and Usage (drawings and/or photographs may be used). Ifomitting material composition labeling, the reason shall be stated.
(4) Plastic materials used for packaging shall not use plastics containing halogens
in the polymer backbone.
[Certification Procedure]
Whether plastics containing halogens in the polymer backbone for plastic
materials used for packaging shall be stated in the Attached Certificates.

4-2. Quality Criteria and Certification Procedure(1) Products shall comply with corresponding standards of the JIS including JIS K
3301, JIS K 3302, and JIS K 3303. Quality control in the manufacturing shall also
be adequately implemented.
[Certification Procedure]
Documents certifying conformity of products to corresponding quality standards
shall be submitted. Certificates by the manager of the plant manufacturing theproduct shall be submitted to certify that quality control has been implemented
adequately in the manufacturing stage, and that no laws have been violated. If theproduct under application or the plant manufacturing the product underapplication is JIS certified, a copy of the JIS certificate can be submitted as proof ofconformity to the concerned criteria.

(2) Products shall observe the “Household Products Quality Labeling Law” and“Fair Competition Regulations Related to Labeling”. Body soap shall observe the“Acton

Securing

Quality,Efficacy

andSafetyofProducts

Including

Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices (Pharmaceuticals and Medical DevicesAct) ”.

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129 V1 Criteria[Certification Procedure]
Samples of labeling shall be submitted based on the “Household Products
Quality Labeling Law” and “Fair Competition Regulations Related toLabeling”.

A certificate

to theeffectthatbody soap observes

thePharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act shall be submitted.

5. Considerations
In the process of manufacturing products, it is desirable to consider the following,
although they are not requirements for certification. The conformance to theindividual criteria items shall be indicated in the Attached Certificate.
(1) The material of this simple packaging shall contain 70% or more used paper
pulp if made of paper.

6. Product Classification, Indication and Others(1) Product classification (application unit) shall be by brand name. Products shallnot be classified by size or color.
(2) In principle, Eco Mark shown as below shall be indicated on the product.
Regarding licensee of Eco Mark Utilization Contract who already own Eco Markproducts, the indication of the logo and certification number that have been usedis also acceptable.

(Note for the indication)*For indicating the logo, Eco Mark certification number (eight-digit number) or
the name of the licensee using the logo shall be appeared.
* Such expression as “Eco Mark product” can be used following the 2.(2) of theGuide 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

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129 V1 Criteria

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/)

Established: July 1, 2004 (Version 1.0)
Revised: October 19, 2006（Version1.1）
Revised: Feb. 14, 2008 (Version1.2)
Revised: August 21, 2008 (Version1.3)
Revised: March 1, 2011 (Version1.4)
Revised: October 1, 2011 (Version1.5)
Revised: November 1, 2011 (Version1.6)
Revised: July 13, 2012 (Version1.7)
Extension of Expiration date: February 1, 2014
Extension of Expiration date: January 7, 2019
Revised: April 1, 2019 (Eco Mark Indication)
Revised: February 1, 2023 (Version1.8)
Extension of Expiration date: March 15, 2024
Expiration date: June 30, 2030
The Certification Criteria for the Product Category will be revised when necessary.

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