What is the 'Kite Mark'?

A brief history:

BSI Kite Mark Logo - Made up of the letters 'B' & 'S'

The Kitemark first appeared in 1903 to indicate tramway rails conformed to an early British Standard. Since 1926 the Kitemark can only be used under Licence from BSI (British Standards Institute) and since then, a huge range of Kitemark schemes have been developed.

The now famous Kitemark can be found on products ranging from cricket balls to manhole covers. All Kitemark certification is voluntary, which demonstrates the commitment companies make to achieve it.

Today, Kitemark schemes are available for over 300 product areas and more than 100,000 individual products – and more are being developed all the time.

The process of obtaining a Kitemark licence involves initial type testing of the product and a visit to the manufacturing site, by BSI assessors to ensure the company is capable of manufacturing consistently to the agreed standard.

Achieving the Kitemark also involves ongoing assessment to confirm that agreed standards are being maintained. Sample products are taken from the production line to ensure they meet the stated product specification.