Sublicense

BPI Certification Mark Requirements

The BPI License Agreement requires all BPI-certified products (e.g. bags, cups, cutlery wrappers, forks, pouches) and packaging (both consumer and market-facing) for BPI-certified products to display the BPI Certification Mark unless an exemption has been granted in writing.

The on-product portion of this requirement is particularly important to differentiate compostable products from their non-compostable counterparts and is the visual cue that consumers and end-users will use when determining whether or not to put an item into an organics/compost bin. Composters will use this same information to determine whether or not an item that they receive at their facility represents a contaminant to their operation. Without consistent labeling and identification efforts at the on-product level, it is nearly impossible for compostable products and packaging to be diverted from landfills and receive their appropriate end-of-life.

The BPI Certification Mark Usage Requirements manual provides overviews of current regulatory requirements for compostability messaging in the United States and Canada and shows examples of the BPI Certification Marks in use. BPI has different versions of the BPI Certification Mark available, but all certified products and their packaging must contain the following 5 elements

Before products are added to BPI’s database and listed in the online product catalog or official certificates are issued, representative samples (BPI does not need to see every size in a category if all the artwork is the same) of product and packaging artwork must be submitted to BPI for confirmation that the artwork meets the requirements for use as outlined in the BPI License Agreement. Product and packaging artwork must be confirmed before the certification process is complete. Applicants may submit artwork for review once the application fee has been paid and a testing scheme has been received by the applicant. Once the BPI License Agreement has been signed, BPI can provide watermarked versions of the BPI Certification Mark for preliminary design and review purposes. Once BPI has received all final paperwork and payments, the applicant will receive official BPI Certification Marks, including the Lock Up Version of the BPI Certification Mark that is unique to the applicant company.

BPI also has general industry Guidelines for the Labeling and Identification of Compostable Products and Packaging that provides expanded recommendations and graphical examples for how to label compostable products beyond what is shown in the BPI Certification Mark Usage Requirements.

For more information on labeling, please visit the Labeling FAQ. 

For questions about BPI’s artwork requirements and review process, please contact our Marketing Team.

Fees & Invoicing

• All invoices are due on receipt. Sublicenses do not proceed until after payment is received. BPI's financial policies can be found here.
• If the Licensee and Sublicensee are both BPI Members: There is no separate cost for a sublicense between two BPI Members, as long as both companies maintain active membership by paying their annual licensing/membership fee.
• If the Sublicensee is not a BPI Member: The Sublicensee will be a Reseller. The annual cost of a sublicense for a Reseller is $500/year USD per licensee, which will be prorated based on the original certificate’s expiration date. Either the licensee or sublicensee can be billed directly for this invoice.

• Sublicensees requiring customized or hybrid sublicense agreements or participating with How2Compost are required to become BPI Members and will be billed for their membership fee.

Sublicense Agreement

• Once BPI has received a complete product worksheet of eligible products, payment of the sublicense fee, and all artwork has been approved, the licensee and sublicensee will receive the Sublicense Agreement for signatures.
• Both companies will need to sign the Sublicense Agreement, using the same file so that all signatures are together on the same agreement. BPI will countersign this agreement after the licensee and sublicensee have both signed.

• Please note: An executed Sublicense Agreement doesn’t grant the sublicensee the right to manufacture any BPI-certified products; it only allows the sublicensee to purchase and private label those specific BPI-certified products from the licensee.

Once the sublicense process is complete, a BPI Project Manager will send the following items to both the licensee and sublicensee for the sublicensed products:

Executed Sublicense Agreement

A copy of the Sublicense Agreement that has been signed by BPI’s Executive Director. This is a good document to keep on file, as it references the terms of the agreement in place between BPI, the licensee, and sublicensee.

BPI Lock Up Certification Mark Files

Unique versions of BPI’s Lock Up Certification Mark that incorporate the sublicensee’s Company Identification Number. This version of the BPI Certification Mark is the preferred version to use on sublicensed items and packaging because it includes disclaimer language required by the Federal Trade Commission in the United States and the Competition Bureau in Canada.

BPI Certification Mark Files

BPI’s Certification Mark is designed for on-product use where space is at a premium. This Mark includes the word “Compostable,” which means disclaimer language still must be used elsewhere in connection with the Mark.

Alternate BPI Certification Mark Files

For on-product labeling scenarios where the Certification Mark will not fit, BPI can provide alternative artwork that includes the BPI “swirl” (the core element of the BPI Certification Marks) and the words “BPI COMPOSTABLE.”

Link to Sublicensee’s Listing in BPI’s Online Database of Certified Products

BPI-certified products are listed in a searchable catalog on BPI’s homepage. This catalog allows the public to search for and verify BPI-certified products. Product listings are populated with the information from the product worksheet and also appear on your Sublicense Agreement.

BPI Certificate

If the sublicensee is a BPI Member, then they’ll also receive their own certificate. This document is the best way to provide customers and other interested parties with evidence of BPI Certification. Resellers can use the second half of their sublicense agreement to show that their SKUs listed in Table A are manufactured by a BPI Member.

For BPI Members Only and Sent Only to Sublicensee