Office and hobby supplies

The product group covers a wide range of product types, such as pens, highlighters, markers, whiteboard pens, erasers, pencils, tape and adhesive.

For many of the products there is a high exposure risk, especially for products used by children. The criteria therefore set stringent chemical requirements of the chemical element of the product, such as requirements of the classification of product and raw materials, and the limitation of VOC, halogenated organic solvents and aroma compounds.

With Nordic Swan Ecolabelled hobby and office supplies you are assured that there are strict requirements for:

Chemicals, such as endocrine disruptors, perfume and problematic organic solvents.
Use of recycled and renewable raw materials.
Minimal use of metal packaging.
Good quality.

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

Criteria document - version 4.12.pdf

Fees valid from 1 January 2021

The criteria document for office and hobby supplies is an overall document for the commodity groups:

Hobby paint and decoration materials
Tape, glue, correction tape, etc.
Writing instruments and erasers

Fees are charged per commodity group according to the price list below.

Type of fee	Amount
Application fee including one on-site inspection within the Nordic region *)	3 000 EUR + VAT per product group
Renewal fee*	1 500 EUR + VAT per product group
More than one inspection visit within the Nordic region**	500 EUR + VAT per visit
Inspection visits in Europe**	1 500 EUR + VAT per visit
Inspection visits outside Europe**	2 500 EUR + VAT per visit
Extension of existing licence***	Extension of existing or changes in licence < 4 hours: 375 EUR + VAT < 8 hours: 750 EUR + VAT ≥ 8 hours: 1 500 EUR + VAT
Annual licence fee for Nordic region	0.3% of turnover + VAT from 0 – 30 million EUR 0.05% of turnover + VAT > 30 million EUR
Minimum fee for Nordic region	2 000 EUR + VAT per year per product group
Maximum fee for Nordic region	No maximum fee
Fees for sale outside the Nordic region (Only if revenue > EUR 300,000 per year)	2 000 EUR + VAT per year

* When both the applicant and the manufacturer are micro-enterprises, the fee is reduced by 50%. A micro-enterprise is in this context defined as an enterprise with less than 10 employees and an annual turnover (of both ecolabelled and not ecolabelled products) below 2 million EUR.

** Where audits requires more than one day away from the office including travelling, Nordic Ecolabelling can invoice an additional fee of 1 000 EUR per extra day. Other extraordinary costs induced by the audit can also be invoiced the applicant.

*** As for an extension of or amendments to a licence, time consumed in connection with the review process will be invoiced according to the extent of the required task. We make a distinction between entirely administrative tasks that last less than 1 hour, and all other tasks that last between 1 and 4 hours, between 4 and 8 hours and more than 8 hours.

The recipient is liable for the VAT according to article 56 of the Council Directive 2006/112/EC.
All information given on this site is subject to a disclaimer for errors and omissions