Using identical article numbers for both new and remanufactured Blue Angel certified cartridges can mislead customers who order green products.
ETIRA, the European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturers Association has responded to the recent article by Digital Imaging (DI), raised issues regarding the Ninestar’s Blue Angel accreditation.
According to the DI article [translated from German], the large Chinese supplier has been advertising since August that it had received the ‘Blue Angel’ accreditation cf. standard RAL DE-ZU 177 for several toner modules of their G&G brand and is only for remanufactured cartridges.
DI said that recent test purchases of six G&G-branded cartridges show that the cartridges were however 100% newbuilt. The Blue Angel logo was not affixed to the cartridges, but reported that they have the same manufacturers’ article numbers as the remanufactured Blue Angel certified cartridges.
ETIRA President Javier Martinez said: “We strongly condemn any confusion when it comes to the Blue Angel certification. Customers are being misled when they want to buy an environment-friendly product but in reality receive a single-use cartridge (“SUC’). A SUC cannot be reused but ends up in the landfill or clogs up the collection systems of remanufacturers.
ETIRA commented: “Certification bodies must act fast and decisively against any confusion surrounding use of their logo. The Blue Angel eco-label is widely respected in our industry and by our customers. Remanufacturers have made great efforts to obtain the Blue Angel approval for their toners, and cannot accept that the benefits of the logo are used without doing the work for it.”
ETIRA welcomes that, as reported by DI, Blue Angel has removed the G&G cartridges from their homepage. Enforcing compliance with standards is key for environmental and circular products.
You can read the DI article here (in German).
