RAL press release: 100 years of RAL QUALITY MARK - a look back

Bonn - 24.03.2025. This year, the RAL QUALITY MARK division - as well as the umbrella organization RAL itself - is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Since its foundation in 1925, RAL Quality Marks have stood for reliability and transparency in the labeling of goods and services offering both industry and consumers reliable guidanceand. The basic idea has therefore survived to this day. But what challenges have RAL Quality Marks faced over the last hundred years? How has the labeling expert developed? We take a look back at the history.

Foundation and early years
The history of RAL Quality Marks began on April 23, 1925 with the founding of the “Reichsausschuss für Lieferbedingungen” (RAL). Back then, the focus lay on RAL registrations and RAL agreements. These were rules that the industry set for itself. The aim was to strengthen the economy and protect consumers through reliable labeling. This was the basis for the RAL Quality Assurance labeling system, which was developed in the following years. Reliability and neutrality were already central principles of the labelling at that time. Expert entitles such as associations, testing institutions and ministries were therefore already involved in objective Quality Assurance in the early years. Continuous internal and external monitoring guaranteed the reliability of the labels from the very beginning. This was followed in 1927 by the standardization of the first 40 colour shades as colour Quality Marks and the use of the first RAL Quality Marks by large established associations. These included, for example, the so-called “Schwurhand-Zeichenverband” or the Technische Vereinigung der Hersteller typisierter Kunststoff-Formmassen (Technical Association of Manufacturers of Standardized Plastic Moulding Compounds). Their Quality Marks continued to exist until 1993, when quality assurance gained in importance - and RAL was now called the "Ausschuss für Lieferbedingungen und Gütesicherung" (Committee for Terms of Delivery and Quality Assurance).

National Socialism and the Second World War
The NS dictatorship initially had little influence on RAL's tasks and self-image - even though the National Socialists' claim to control grew. From 1936 at the latest, RAL also saw its activities as a contribution to the so-called “national community”. This was followed, among other things, by the development of Quality Marks for Nazi organizations.
In 1942 - with the Quality Mark Ordinance (GZVO) - the influence of the Reich Ministry of Economics increased. Nevertheless, RAL was still awarding individual quality marks under private law in 1944 and was responsible for their approval, withdrawal and monitoring. This came to an end after the war and RAL ceased its work.

Upswing in the 1950s and 1960s
The economic upturn also brought RAL GÜTEZEICHEN back onto the scene - as an independent institution to ensure clear and reliable quality and technical delivery conditions. Despite being affiliated to the German Standards Committee (DNA) from 1952, RAL continued to act independently and autonomously. It was not until twenty years later that RAL once again became a registered association with its own legal personality. In 1954, RAL published the “RAL Principles for Quality Marks” together with representatives of German industry, the testing sector, consumer organizations and the responsible federal ministries.
In the 1950s and 1960s, special attention was also paid to public relations work and addressing consumers directly, for example by exhibiting quality-controlled products at the “RAL Lehrschauen” (RAL educational shows).

Decades of exciting developments
Since 1980, RAL has been known by the name we recognise today: RAL Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung e. V. In 1985, the “Principles for Quality Marks” were once again published by the Federal Ministry of Economics in the Federal Gazette, underlining the importance of RAL Quality Assurance. The Blauer Engel eco-label has been awarded by the RAL UMWELT division since 1978. In 1992, RAL was notified as a “Competent Body” and was commissioned to award the European environmental lable EU Ecolabel in Germany. The RAL LOGO LICENSE division was founded in 2013 and the RAL AKADEMIE in 2015. RAL licenses and monitors the Stiftung Warentest test logo, awards the Grüner Knopf textile seal and is the regulator for the Nutri-Score in Germany. Since 2017, RAL Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung e. V. has been located in its own building in Bonn-Beuel, where numerous RAL quality-assured products and services have been integrated into the new construction. With the implementation of RAL Monitoring 2018, the umbrella organisation is auditing the duties of the quality associations, thereby ensuring the credibility of the system and adapting RAL Quality Assurance to international standards.

Outlook for the future
Today, after a century of commitment to transparent and reliable labeling, RAL Quality Marks can be found on road signs or candles, in many areas of construction, in sports facilities and saunas, in the recycling industry, in  catering sector, in healthcare and in many other areas. Simply put, they have become an integral part of the German market. A good reason to celebrate: At the ceremony on April 9, 2025 at Futurium Berlin, the labelling expert is hosting numerous guests from politics, business and society. Whatever the next hundred years may bring: the basic values of transparency, neutrality and reliability in labeling should continue to exist in the future!

Press contact: RAL Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und Kennzeichnung e. V.
Andrea Knaden | Fränkische Straße 7 | 53229 Bonn | Tel.: +49 228 68895 172| E-Mail: presse(at)ral.de