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What is printed on a box or a wrapper: recycling and disposal marks, material identification codes, certification logos and conformity marks.
Here when the mark is addressed to whoever handles the packaging — the buyer, the recycler, the regulator. A hazard pictogram on the same box is a safety symbol and is filed there.
Officially standardised with a substantial layer of common usage on top, and the gap between the two is the point: several of these marks are widely read as meaning something their definition does not say.
All 136symbols in this domain, A–Z.
An allergen name set apart in the ingredients.
Bold or otherwise emphasised words in an ingredients list, marking allergens.
A black octagon: high in sugars.
A black octagon: high in calories.
A black octagon: high in saturated fat.
A black octagon: high in sodium.
Two curved arrows with the letters ALU, marking aluminium packaging.
A capital B in a circle above the word Certified.
A code identifying which production run a product came from.
A chemical symbol printed under a crossed-out bin.
A crossed-out wheeled bin symbol, sometimes marked with Pb, Cd or Hg, required on batteries under EU law to signal separate collection.
Two date marks meaning quite different things.
An informal, uncertified leaf or sprout-style icon marketing a product as biodegradable — unlike the certified Seedling logo, with no fixed graphic or independent standard behind it.
A blue figure with outstretched arms inside a ring of laurel, Germany's environmental label.
A lens on a black bar.
Day or date labels printed on a blister pack, one per dose.
A footprint outline, usually with a figure, stating a product's emissions.
The letters CE in a defined geometric form, declaring conformity in the EEA.
A cross in a circle marking where a package balances.
An instruction to press and turn a closure.
The letters CCC in a rounded frame.
A graded bar chart on an orange ground.
Ten rings around a mountain and sun.
A bud and sun in a circle.
A seed device in a green roundel.
A droplet cupped in two hands.
A green gradient plate one character longer.
A warning about a child's age.
A seedling, and a condition.
A certification mark for compostable material.
A rectangle warning of caffeine.
A rectangle warning of sweeteners.
A letters-and-numbers marking showing a medicine's controlled-drug schedule.
Small pictograms for oven, hob, microwave and grill.
A statement of where a product was made or last changed.
An ear of wheat struck through inside a circle.
An ear of wheat crossed through, marking a certified gluten-free product.
A rabbit device certifying no animal testing.
A purple label with a cell in division, marking hazardous drugs.
Plates or glasses under falling water, indicating dishwasher use.
An instruction against refreezing thawed food.
A crossed-out box on a box, forbidding anything placed on top.
A blue-circle ISO 7010 safety sign showing a person disposing of litter in a bin, instructing use of a litter bin in workplaces and public spaces.
Bars of varying width encoding a product number.
A leaf, or the letters ECO: longer, cooler, and the tested setting.
A code stamped on a shell.
A digit, a country code and a farm number on each shell.
A machine-readable code linking to a product record.
A star inside a stylised label outline, marking energy-efficient products.
A stylised letter e beside a net quantity.
A flower whose petals are the twelve stars of the European flag, marking reduced environmental impact.
A ladder of coloured arrows from green to red, grading a product's energy efficiency.
A leaf drawn in stars on a green field, marking certified organic food.
An hourglass or EXP mark giving the date after which a product should not be used.
A blue and green circle enclosing a figure holding up an arm, certifying trading terms.
Percentages naming what a fabric is made of.
A fish and a tick, in blue.
A gear description and a catch area on a fish label.
A wine glass and a fork, marking material safe for food contact.
A broken wine glass warning that contents are breakable.
A snowflake, indicating suitability for freezing.
A tick-tree device beside the words FSC 100%.
A checkmark-and-tree logo certifying that wood or paper-based packaging material comes from responsibly managed forestry.
The tick-tree device beside the words FSC Mix.
A leaf, sprig or green swirl used on packaging with no scheme or definition behind it.
Two interlocking green arrows forming a circular motif, marking that a packaging producer has paid into a European packaging-recovery scheme.
A mark from a certifying body stating that a product is permissible under Islamic law.
A glass, an umbrella, a chain.
An oval carrying a country code and an approval number.
A mark certifying a material breaks down in a domestic compost heap.
A coil or spiral, indicating cookware works on induction.
Japan's agricultural standard mark.
The day of the year, as three digits.
A sun beside a package, requiring storage out of direct light.
An umbrella under rain, requiring the package be kept from wet.
A child-and-hand or crossed-child mark warning against accessible storage.
A temperature instruction for chilled storage.
A code panel naming origin and lot.
Category marks on a coded bag.
A letter or monogram in a shape, identifying the body certifying a product kosher.
A leaping rabbit outline, certifying that a product was not tested on animals.
A capital or lower-case L, the symbol for the litre.
A thermometer or snowflake marking a medicine's required storage conditions.
Wavy lines, or a dish beneath them, indicating microwave use.
Three arrows chasing each other.
A white fish outline with a tick-shaped body on a blue oval, certifying wild-caught fisheries.
A decibel figure and class on an appliance label.
A white swan in flight on a green disc, the Nordic countries' official ecolabel.
Five graded letters with one enlarged.
A rounded badge with the words OK compost HOME.
A wording panel stating whether packaging is widely recycled or not.
Stars arranged as a leaf.
A stylised oven, or a temperature figure, indicating oven use.
A word declaring a repacked load.
Alphanumeric codes (such as PAP, FE, ALU, GL) identifying non-plastic packaging material composition under EU rules, parallel to the plastics resin codes.
An open jar with a number and M, giving months of use after opening.
Letters and numbers pressed into a tablet, identifying the product.
A ringed emblem marking a food whose name is legally protected by origin.
A blue and yellow ring for place-linked food.
A green frog in a circle, certifying farm and forest management practices.
The same three-arrow recycling loop with a numeric percentage inside or alongside it, denoting the proportion of recycled material actually contained in a product.
A bin marked with the recycling loop, showing where to deposit recyclables.
Three chasing arrows forming a triangular loop, used internationally to indicate recyclability or recycled content.
A red tractor in a flag device, certifying British farm assurance standards.
Panels giving a portion as a share of a daily reference.
A mark showing a pack can be closed again.
A chasing-arrows triangle around the numeral 1, identifying PET.
A chasing-arrows triangle around the numeral 2, identifying HDPE.
A chasing-arrows triangle around the numeral 3, identifying PVC.
A chasing-arrows triangle around the numeral 4, identifying LDPE.
A chasing-arrows triangle around the numeral 5, identifying polypropylene.
A chasing-arrows triangle around the numeral 6, identifying polystyrene.
A chasing-arrows triangle around the numeral 7, meaning any other plastic.
A number inside a triangle.
A stylised sprout icon certifying that packaging meets the EN 13432 standard for industrial compostability.
Brazil's energy efficiency label.
A rigid yellow container with a fill line and a lid lock.
A device tying goods to a document.
A destination cut through a plate.
A plain triangle of three straight lines, without arrowheads.
A feature showing whether a pack has been opened.
An arrow or notch showing where to open a pack.
A thermometer between two bounds, giving a storage temperature range.
Two upward arrows beside a package outline, fixing its orientation.
A figure putting litter in a bin.
A stick-figure pictogram of a person putting litter into a bin, a UK-trademarked anti-littering mark that also appears informally on packaging worldwide.
A colour-coded panel rating fat, saturates, sugar and salt per portion.
A figure with three arrows curving around it.
Three ratings on one card.
Graded classes for grip, noise and fuel economy.
The letters UKCA declaring conformity for the Great Britain market.
A licensed mark for products free of animal input.
A stylised sunflower growing from a V, certifying a product free of animal ingredients.
A licensed mark for products free of animal flesh.
A graded scale rating water consumption.
A crossed-out wheeled bin symbol required on electrical and electronic products under EU law, instructing separate collection rather than general disposal.