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  3. Laundry detergents and stain removers 006
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Laundry detergents and stain removers 006

The product group comprises laundry detergent and stain removers.

Nordic Ecolabelling sets strict chemical requirements for environment and health as well as packaging for Nordic Swan Ecolabelled detergents and stain removers. In addition, the Nordic Ecolabelling promotes the use of sustainably produced renewable raw materials so that it will increase. At the same time, satisfactory performance must be documented through standardized testing.

The requirements include:

  • Environmental properties (ecotoxicity and biodegradability) of the chemicals used in the products.
  • Health properties of the chemicals used in the products. E.g., no use of CMR classified substances and various specifically problematic substances such as SVHCs and endocrine disruptors.
  • Performance testing.
  • Recyclable design of the packaging.
  • Increased use of sustainable renewable raw materials including RSPO palm oil.

Below you will find all the necessary documents and background information to apply for the Nordic Swan Ecolabel.

    1. Start your application process by reading the criteria document and find out if your product can obtain the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. 
    2. Read your Application Guide.
    3. Request login credentials.
    4. Now you are ready to enter the Nordic Ecolabelling Portal.

     

    Portal sign in                               Get login credentials

     

    Should you wish to transfer your licence, please use this form. 

  • Fees valid from 1 January 2025

    Application fee

    Application fee including one on-site inspection within the Nordic region *) 3 348 EUR excl. VAT. Inspection of four recipes is included in the application fee. For inspection of additional recipes, 836 EUR excl. VAT per recipe will be charged.
    Renewal fee *) 1 673 EUR excl. VAT. Inspection of four recipes is included in the fee. For inspection of additional recipes, 418 EUR excl. VAT per recipe will be charged.

    Annual licence fee

    Annual licence fee: The annual licence fee for the Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products is based on their turnover in the Nordic countries. **)

    		 0.3% of turnover + VAT from EUR 0–30.9 million 
    0.05% of turnover + VAT > EUR 30.9 million
    Minimum fee for the Nordic countries 2 232 EUR annually excl. VAT
    Maximum fee for the Nordic countries No maximum fee
    Annual licence fee outside the Nordic countries (for licence holders with a turnover of more than 300 000 EUR of Nordic Swan ecolabelled products, sold outside the Nordic countries) 2 232 EUR annually excl. VAT

     If the Nordic Swan ecolabelled products are only sold outside the Nordic countries, a minimum fee is always charged.

    Fee for extensions/alterations of licence

    Extension/alteration of existing licence Should the extension regard inspection of recipes, which are not already included in the licence, 836 EUR excl. VAT will be charged per recipe.

    Other types of alterations will be charged according to how long it takes to deal with the matter:
    - Less than 4 hours: 418 EUR excl. VAT
    - Between 4 and 8 hours: 836 EUR excl. VAT
    - More than 8 hours: 1 673 EUR excl. VAT

    Fees for on-site inspections

    Extra fee for additional on-site inspection within the Nordic countries 557 EUR excl. VAT per visit
    On-site inspection outside the Nordic region, but within Europe***) 1 673 EUR excl. VAT per visit
    On-site inspections outside Europe***) 2 790 EUR excl. VAT per visit

    Euro rate: The exchange rate of the first day of the year is used to convert amounts in Euro to national currency.

    *) Micro enterprises are charged half the fee. A micro enterprise, according to our definition, is a company with a maximum of 10 employees and with a total turnover of €2 000 000 (including both ecolabelled and non-ecolabelled products).

    **) Corporations pay only one licence fee

    ***) There is an extra fee of 1 083 EUR per day if the inspection takes more than one day
     

    Fees valid from 1 January 2024

    Application fee

    Application fee including one on-site inspection within the Nordic region *) 3 251 EUR excl. VAT. Inspection of four recipes is included in the application fee. For inspection of additional recipes, 778 EUR excl. VAT per recipe will be charged.
    Renewal fee *) 1 625 EUR excl. VAT. Inspection of four recipes is included in the fee. For inspection of additional recipes, 389 EUR excl. VAT per recipe will be charged.

    Annual licence fee

    Annual licence fee: The annual licence fee for the Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products is based on their turnover in the Nordic countries. **)

    		 0.3% of turnover + VAT from EUR 0–30 million 
    0.05% of turnover + VAT > EUR 30 million
    Minimum fee for the Nordic countries 2 167 EUR annually excl. VAT
    Maximum fee for the Nordic countries No maximum fee
    Annual licence fee outside the Nordic countries (for licence holders with a turnover of more than 300 000 EUR of Nordic Swan ecolabelled products, sold outside the Nordic countries) 2 167 EUR annually excl. VAT

     If the Nordic Swan ecolabelled products are only sold outside the Nordic countries, a minimum fee is always charged.

    Fee for extensions/alterations of licence

    Extension/alteration of existing licence Should the extension regard inspection of recipes, which are not already included in the licence, 778 EUR excl. VAT will be charged per recipe.

    Other types of alterations will be charged according to how long it takes to deal with the matter:
    - Less than 4 hours: 406 EUR excl. VAT
    - Between 4 and 8 hours: 812 EUR excl. VAT
    - More than 8 hours: 1 625 EUR excl. VAT

    Fees for on-site inspections

    Extra fee for additional on-site inspection within the Nordic countries 541 EUR excl. VAT per visit
    On-site inspection outside the Nordic region, but within Europe***) 1 625 EUR excl. VAT per visit
    On-site inspections outside Europe***) 2 709 EUR excl. VAT per visit

    Euro rate: The exchange rate of the first day of the year is used to convert amounts in Euro to national currency.

    *) Micro enterprises are charged half the fee. A micro enterprise, according to our definition, is a company with a maximum of 10 employees and with a total turnover of €2 000 000 (including both ecolabelled and non-ecolabelled products).

    **) Corporations pay only one licence fee

    ***) There is an extra fee of 1 083 EUR per day if the inspection takes more than one day

  • In the criteria document, you can read about how to document and verify compliance for each requirement. You can also find other application documents here.

  • Information on the latest version of the criteria for laundry detergents and stain removers

    8.10 ⇛ 8.11: Prolongation of the criteria

    Nordic Ecolabelling decided on 10 December 2024, to prolong the validity of the criteria until 30 April, 2027. The new version is called 8.11.

    8.9 ⇛ 8.10: Adjustment of the criteria

    On 13 August 2024 Nordic Ecolabelling decided to allow IFS standard for Household and Personal care as an alternative to ISO9001 (Appendix 1). On 20 August 2024 Nordic Ecolabelling decided to include paper bags for powder products in the criteria. The requirements are specified in the requirements for recycling and recycled material in packaging (O19), the requirements for design for recycling of flexible plastic pouches/bags, cardboard packaging for liquid products and paper bags for powder products (O21) and the WUR requirements (O22). The new version is called 8.10.

    8.8 ⇛ 8.9: Adjustment of the criteria

    On 16 April 2024 Nordic Ecolabelling decided to prolong the transition period for TiO2 in the requirement for classifications of ingoing substances (O5) until 2025-03-31. The new version is called 8.9.

    8.7 ⇛ 8.8: Adjustment of the criteria

    Nordic Ecolabelling decided on 12 March 2024 to clarify that coloured packaging components made from PP are allowed to have up to 5 % PE if it comes from the masterbatch and that recycled plastic, which is bought as one type of polymer, e.g. PP, is considered monomaterial (O20A). The new version is called 8.8.

    8.6 ⇛ 8.7: Adjustment of the criteria

    On 24 October 2024 Nordic Ecolabelling decided to change the transition period of the requirement O20 – B Labels for rigid plastic packaging until 2024-12-31.

    The new version is called 8.7 and is valid to 31 December 2025.

    8.5 ⇛ 8.6: Adjustment of the criteria

    In requirement O5 the time limited transition perdiod for titanium dioxide in solid mixtures has been prolonged to 30 June 2024.

    The new version is called 8.6 and is valid to 31 December 2025.

    8.4 ⇛ 8.5: Adjustment and prolongation of the criteria

    Requirement O21 has been adjusted and the permitted amount of EVOH in flexible plastic bags has been increased from 2 to 5%, furthermore the time-limited exemption for TiO2 has been extended to 30 June 2023, and finally the validity of the criteria has been prolonged by 12 months to 31 December 2025.

    The new version is called 8.5.

    8.3 ⇛ 8.4: Adjustment of the criteria

    On the 29 March 2022 Nordic Ecolabelling decided to adjust requirement O11 by also exempting H411 classified surfactants from the requirement. 

    The new version is called 8.4.

    8.2 ⇛ 8.3: Adjustment of the criteria

    Adjustment of requirement O11 on exemption for hydrogen peroxide, in requirement O15 the washing instructions were updated to "preferably washed with a full machine" and a spelling error was corrected in IEC-P's reference formulation in Appendix 5A.

    The new version is called 8.3

    8.1 ⇛ 8.2: Adjustment of the criteria

    Adjustment of requirement O5 for a transition period for titanium dioxide and requirement O20 on membranes for thermoplastic elastomers.

    The new version is called 8.2.

    8.0 ⇛ 8.1: Adjustment of the criteria

    Requirements for cardboard packaging for liquid products have been introduced. Furthermore, a clarification regarding titanium dioxide has been decided on in requirement O5. Prohibitions on substances listed under Reach Annex XVII have been removed in requirement O6. The exception for testing secondary effects for liquid detergents without bleach has been changed (see Appendix 5A, section 4.3).

    The new version is called 8.1.

    7.12 ⇛ 8.0 Revision of criteria

    Nordic Ecolabelling decided on revising criteria for laundry detergents and stain removers on the 19 December 2019. Version 8.0 is valid until 31 December 2024.

    7.13 ⇛ 7.14: Prolongation of validity of criteria

    The criteria's validity has been prolonged with 3 months. The new version, 7.14, is valid until November 30, 2021.

    7.12 ⇛ 7.13: Adjustment of the criteria

    An exception for TMP in self-dissolving PVA has been introduced in requirement K3. The new version, 7.13, is valid until 31 August 2021.

    7.11 ⇛ 7.12: Prolongation of validity of criteria

    The criteria's validity has been prolonged with 6 months. The new version, 7.12, is valid until August 31, 2021.

    7.10 ⇛ 7.11: Prolongation of validity of criteria

    The criteria's validity has been prolonged with 4 months. The new version, 7.11, is valid until February 28, 2021.

    7.9 ⇛ 7.10: Prolongation of validity of criteria

    The criteria's validity has been prolonged with 7 months. At the same time requirement R27 Take-back systems was removed. The new version, 7.10, is valid until October 31, 2020.

    7.8 ⇛ 7.9: Prolongation of validity of criteria

    The criteria's validity has been prolonged with 21 months. The new version, 7.9, is valid until March 31, 2020.

    7.7 ⇛ 7.8: Prolongation of validity of criteria

    The criteria's validity has been prolonged with 24 months. The new version, 7.8, is valid until June 30, 2018.

    7.6 ⇛ 7.7: Adjustment of criteria

    • R10: An exemption for the enzyme protease has been made in the requirement R10. The new version, 7.7, is valid until December 31, 2017.

    7.5 ⇛ 7.6: Adjustment of criteria

    • Version 7.6 of the criteria has been updated with a number of clarifications regarding reference dosage, unit based detergents like tablets and capsules, products with multiple fields of application, test machines etc.
    • The CDV calculation sheet has been updated so it is now more evident that functional unit and reference dosage is the same in the WUR calculation.

  • In the background document below you will find reasoning and facts behind the specific requirements in the criteria document.

    Here you can also read the comments, requirement for requirement, from the public hearing.

    If the documents are in a Nordic language, you can get help in understanding the sections you need by contacting the product specialist in your chosen country below.