Blue Angel (certification)

The Blue Angel is the ecolabel of the West German government and was introduced in 1978 by the Federal Minister of the Interior, which was a person of the Free Democratic Party (Germany) (FDP) in these years.

It was established with the aim of highlighting more environmentally friendly and healthy developments and alternatives in areas where standard products have a negative impact on the environment.

[5] This means that the entire life cycle of the product is taken into account and any impacts on the environment and health are fully considered during the development of the criteria ("multi-criteria evaluation").

In addition, the criteria are developed in a transparent process that includes both the suppliers affected as well as interested organisations within civil society and research institutions.

The independent certification body – RAL gGmbH – ensures that the certified products and services comply with the relevant criteria.

Nevertheless, the Blue Angel serves its desired function as a guide for consumers because it has quickly become a generally accepted standard on the market for environmental protection in many sectors.

According to the criteria for the award of the Blue Angel, these advertising claims could be easily misleading to consumers especially in the case of chemical products.