Quastionnaire on Stakeholder consultation on Indian Jute ecolabel

Your Name: Your Organization Name:
Mailing Address: Phone number
(including international code)

Fax number:
   
Email contact:
   

Please tick as appropriate. 
The best way to describe you is :

You are aware of jute as a natural fiber:

A Jute product user
A Jute trader / buyer
A Jute expert
Not connected to jute at all, but is 
interested in environment and ecolabels
Waste handler
Other, please specify:  
for several years
for the first time in your life
have been a regular user of jute products
other, please specify:  
        Do you think jute ecolabel would improve the awareness about 
        the environmental aspects of jute? Please tick.
Yes

No

Which jute products are you aware of?

Do you think the functional aspects of jute products
are as important as the environmental aspects of jute ? Please tick one

Jute Yarn
Hessian
Food grade quality Jute Hessian or bags
Shopping bags
Floor covering
Jute Geotextiles
Jute felt

Both product life cycle environmental and health impacts and  
product function characteristics (including price, delivery, utility,economy etc.) are important
 

Jute product environmental impacts are only important  

Only jute’s pricing, functional utility vis-ŕ-vis competing 
products is important.  

(a) plus social impacts (employment and livelihood of people 
in developing countries)

Life cycle step

Criterium Expectations

Your Comments

Agricultural phase

Limitation of toxic residue in fibre

Selected pesticides like Aldrin, captafol, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, endrin, heptachlor, Cypermethrin, , parathion, phosphamidon etc in fiber <0.05 ppm

Use of pesticide is as per standard quantities prescribed by the Government of India.

Agricultural phase

Limitation of green house gas emission during retting

The retting process followed may be of non-conventional type  

In case of conventional retting, the depth of the pond < 1 meter.

Manufacturing

Limitation of toxic residue in fibre

Presence of heavy metals (mg/kg) in finished jute product Arsenic< 0.2, Lead <0.8, Cadmiuml,<0.1, cobalt <4, copper <50, chromium <2, mercury<0.02, Nickel< 4, tin < 4, zinc < 60

The hydrocarbon present should be less than 1250 mg/kg in Food grade packaging material  

No undesirable odours or odours untypical of jute shall be present.

Manufacturing

Reduction of air pollution during product manufacturing

At least 20% of the fuel consumption for steam generation should be of renewable energy sources like jute caddies, rice husks, biomass etc

VOC emissions from the manufacturing of shopping bag must be less than or equal to 2 gm/m2 of the surface of shopping bag or the components of printing paste should contains a maximum of 1% in weight of organic solvents.

Manufacturing

Reduction of water pollution during product manufacturing

COD content of wastewaters from wet processes should be less than 25 g/kg, expressed as an annual average.

Manufacturing

Limitation of use of substances harmful for the health and environment

At least 95% by weight of the detergents, fabric softeners, complexing agentsand seizing chemical used must meet the requirement for ready biodegradability.  

hydrogen peroxide should be used as bleaching agent to avoid AOX emission or AOX emissions in the bleaching effluent shall be less than 100 mg Chloride/kg.

The levels of ionic impurities in the dyes used shall not exceed the following limits: Ag 100 ppm; As 50 ppm; Ba 100 ppm; Cd 20 ppm; Co 500 ppm; Cr 100 ppm; Cu 250 ppm; Fe 2 500 ppm; Hg 4 ppm; Mn 1 000 ppm; Ni 200 ppm; Pb 100 ppm, Se 20 ppm; Sb 50 ppm; Sn 250 ppm; Zn 1500 ppm

For food grade quality jute hessian or sacking, the sum of concentration levels of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium present should not exceed 100 ppm by weight

The levels of ionic impurities for pigments used should be(in ppm) Ba< 100, Cd <50; Cr<100; Hg< 25; Pb <100; Se <100;

Sb < 250; Zn <1 000

Chrome mordant dyeing is not allowed. If metal complex dyes based on copper, chromium or nickel are used, less than 20% of each of those metal complex dyes applied (input to the process) shall be discharged to waste water treatment (whether on-site or off-site).  

No azo dyes that cleave to a list of aromatic anines Dyes that is carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction shall not be used No use is allowed of dye substances containing more than 0.1 % by weight of substances that are assigned or may be assigned at the time of application any of the risk phrases (or combinations thereof)

The potentially sensitizing dyes if fastness to perspiration (acid and alkaline) > 4 Plastisol based printing is not allowed for food grade quality Jute sacking.

No use is allowed of flame retardant substances or of flame retardant reparations containing more than 0.1% by weight of substances that are assigned or may be assigned at the time of application any of some specific risk phrases (or combinations thereof)

Coatings, laminates and membranes shall not be produced using plasticizers or solvents, which are assigned or may be assigned at the time of application any of some selected

Transportation

Emissions to air

Requirement as to CO2 emission factor during transportation: the emission factor should not be more than 0.007 kg CO2/tonne-km in case of transportation of products by sea. For road transportation, the vehicles to be used should conform to the pollution under control (PUC) regulations under the Motor Vehicles Act in India.

Disposal

Methane generation, leachates

Disposal protocol should be made available to buyers and consumers that take into consideration specific requirements for land disposal and waste to energy.

Any other comments or other criteria you may wish to suggest :

Jute is a biodegradable natural fiber. If the above ecolabel criteria ensure that the environmental impacts are not significant for product use, what route of disposal would you recommend? Match the left with the right columns.

* Disposal in landfill as a no hazardous waste
* Bio-compost jute products

* Use jute to make non-woven material

* Blends in soil

* Incinerate jute and derive energy from biomass (natural fiber) thus
 
reducing greenhouse gas emission (no need for fossil fuel based energy)

* Any other, please specify