Author：Melissa Bryant | TIME：October 11, 2019
Symbols are here and there in daily life; and they have special meanings that indicate or warn you to do something. For example, the RED STOP in traffic signs alerts drivers to intersections and other areas where traffic may be traveling in opposite or crossing directions.
When it comes to the packaging industry, symbols also play an important role. Packaging symbols along with your products deliver certain messages to the end users, as well as those who may need to handle with them during transportation.
For instance, if you put the Fragile symbol on the packaging box, people will deal with it with caution. If you have a TM symbol, it indicates that your trademark is not registered yet.
Besides, some products are required by some bureaus or agencies to labeled with certain symbols.
Yes, packaging symbols are very important and essential. Getting to know the symbols and their meanings may help save you a lot of troubles. Below are the collection of some of the most common symbols for different products including food and cosmetics.
Just as its name indicates, this group of packaging symbols or signs are founded on legal or regulatory standards and are only applicable to government or specialty party-approved products.
The TM symbol indicates the parent company’s interest in securing a trademark on a given name, design or even color. Trademarks can be renewed indefinitely.
The registered trademark symbol suggests that the trademark has been registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office. This sign offers protection to the product and character details.
The copyright symbol grants a temporary (meaning it may eventually expire) protection of writings, music and works of art. Each copyrighted work must be branded with the copyright symbol.
This type of symbols is all about the content. Some content symbols are general and applicable to a variety of products while other special interest content symbols can be only applied to certain product categories.
The sun symbol reminds end users to prevent the product from exposing to the sun.
The umbrella symbol is used to inform consumers to keep the product away from water.
A handling symbol refers to the packaging details and how it should be handled. And below are some handling symbols often found on packaging.
The recycle symbol is a circle of arrows. This symbol means the given item is recyclable.
Each of the these numbers inside the triangle of cycling arrows shows what type of polymer resin the plastic product is made out of so plastics of the same polymer resin types can be recycled properly together.
This No Littering sign on packaging reminds us to keep the environment clean and dispose of trash correctly.
One of the most recognizable packaging symbols, especially for products made of glass. It indicats that the material is easily breakable so it should be handled with caution. This symbol should be often seen on the packaging of our glass bottle products.
Food products have symbols related to ingredients, nutritional information, dietary restrictions, allergens, etc.
The Non-GMO Project seal certifies that the given product was produced in an environment dedicated to NO Genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Non-GMO Project provides independent verification of testing and GMO controls for both U.S. and Canada based products.
This registered mark suggests that the given product is made, produced and/or grown in the United States. There are many designs of this symbol since there is not a standard and it's not created by a group or organization.
Created and certified by the Gluten Free Certification Organization (GFCO), this symbol shows that the food within the package does not contain any gluten and that the product was not exposed to cross-contamination.
The vegan symbol labeled on the package verifies that the given product is totally free from any animal products or byproducts.
The vegetarian symbol indicates that the given product has been certified by the Vegetarian Society.
Certified by the USDA’s National Organic Program, this symbol suggests the regulations and standards for products that are produced organically without synthetic fertilizers, irradiation, and/or genetic engineering.
This symbol signifies that the given product was produced by workers subject to fair labor practices. It can be found on honey, tea, chocolate, coffee, nuts, and grains.
Certified by The Rainforest Alliance, this symbol shows that the given products (coffee, tea, chocolate, fruit juice, etc) were produced sustainably, with the smallest possible impact on the environment.
This symbol by the OK Kosher can be found on a variety of popular products from major companies.
Certified by the Orthodox Union, this OU Kosher sign is used to verify which modern foods abide by ancient dietary laws. And due to the strict standards of this labeling system, there are different variations of the OU, including:
OU — the food contains neither meat nor dairy, a “neutral” product
OU-D — dairy product
OU-M — the product is made with meat or meat ingredients
OU-F — the product is made with fish ingredients
Cosmetic products also have symbols for certain ingredients and allergens. Besides, they have symbols for things like ethical production and testing, too.
This symbol by PETA is used to signifies that products of verified businesses are cruelty-free and are not tested on animals throughout the producing process.
Created by the Leaping Bunny Program, this symbol is similar to that by the PETA Bunny: cruelty-free and was not tested on animals.
PAO (Point After Opening): This is a graphic symbol that identifies the useful lifetime of a given cosmetics product after its package has been opened for the first time. The number followed by the M represents the specific number of months the product is effective after opening.
The E symbol suggests that the given product was filled using “average fill system”, the European Directive’s standards for packaging.
If this E sign appears under the amount in grams or milliliters on the package, it represents that the product contains the amount advertised. This must appear on all products sold in the EU.
If you see this symbol on the package, it means that the product within has toxic or poisonous contents.
This packaging symbol indicates that the contents inside are destructive and can corrode or eat through materials.
The explosive symbol shows that the materials are capable of causing explosions.
This packaging symbol on a packaging notifies users that the product itself or at least one of its ingredients is flammable and can easily cathc fire once being exposed to high heat or a flame. It is also a warning of keeping the product away from sources of heat.
This symbol suggests the presence of an agent that could bring danger to health.
This symbol gives a hint that the given product within the package could emit radiation.
Now you should have a better knowledge of packaging symbols. And I hope this is useful to you. Yet, there are a lot more symbols for packaging that are not listed in this article. So before you decide what type of package to use for your product, make sure you’ve done plenty of research for your product and market and know what symbols are needed.