Green Cracker Certification Marks
SWAS, STAR, SAFAL and the CSIR-NEERI green logo compared in one table — what each mark means and how to tell a genuine green cracker apart.
Green Cracker Certification Marks: SWAS, STAR, SAFAL and the CSIR-NEERI Logo Explained
Short answer:
- CSIR-NEERI has developed three named green-cracker formulations: SAFAL (Safe Minimal Aluminium Cracker), STAR (Safe Thermite Cracker) and SWAS (Safe Water Release). Each cuts particulate-matter emissions by a stated 30% against a conventional cracker of the same type, while matching its sound output.
- A genuinely certified product carries two things together, not one: the printed Green Fireworks logo (with a PESO licence reference and a certificate number) and a QR code that must be scanned with the CSIR-NEERI Green QR app to confirm the manufacturer, formulation category and certificate validity.
- CSIR-NEERI tests and issues the emissions certificate; PESO grants the final manufacturing/sale approval on top of it, since one body verifies the science and the other licenses the product.
- The Supreme Court's 23 October 2018 judgment permits the manufacture and sale of certified green crackers; the National Green Tribunal separately restricts their use to cities and towns where air quality sits at moderate or below.
- This page defines the marks and the identification system only; it does not certify, endorse or claim certification for any specific product.
What "green cracker" means before any mark is applied
Before a product can carry any of the three marks below, it has to clear CSIR-NEERI's baseline definition of a green cracker: a reduction in raw-material usage, shell size or ash content that delivers either a minimum 30% cut in particulate matter (PM), or a minimum 20% PM cut plus a further 10% reduction in gaseous emissions (SO₂ and NOₓ), both measured against a conventional cracker in the same category. Metals used for colour, such as barium compounds, are treated as a subset of PM under this definition, which is why green formulations avoid barium salts.
SAFAL, STAR and SWAS are the three named ways CSIR-NEERI has engineered products to meet that bar. They are not competing brands a buyer picks between: they're three different chemistries applied across the same catalogue of shot crackers, flower pots and sparklers, and a given product line typically carries only one of the three, decided by its manufacturer's formulation.
The comparison table
| Mark | Stands for | What it minimises | How it works | Sound vs. conventional | Stated PM reduction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **SAFAL** | Safe Minimal Aluminium Cracker | Aluminium content, particulate matter, SO₂, NOₓ | Exothermic heat of sorption: water is immobilised in zeolite and other adsorbents, releasing water/air as a dust suppressant on ignition | Matches conventional crackers (100–120 dBA) | 30% |
| **STAR** | Safe Thermite Cracker | Particulate matter, SO₂, NOₓ | A thermite-type reaction: a metal oxide (iron oxide, titania or alumina silicates) acts as oxidiser against aluminium fuel, at a reduced ignition temperature | Matches conventional crackers (100–120 dBA) | 30% |
| **SWAS** | Safe Water Release | Particulate matter, SO₂, NOₓ | Exothermic reaction of water (held in hydrogel or calcium peroxide additives) with lime and unreacted aluminium, releasing water/air as a dust suppressant | Matches conventional crackers (100–120 dBA) | 30% (for water-based crackers) |
All three formulations also minimise or avoid potassium nitrate and sulphur in the mix, which CSIR-NEERI credits with a further cost saving on top of the emissions cut. Beyond the three headline marks, CSIR-NEERI has extended the same chemistry to Green Flower Pots (sold under the STAR-Z and STAR-F codes) and Green Sparklers (BM, BZ and SZ variants), so the same three-letter logic carries through to product types that aren't sound crackers at all.
How each formulation differs
The three marks aren't interchangeable labels for the same trick; each swaps out a different part of a conventional cracker's chemistry.
SAFAL targets aluminium specifically, alongside PM and gas emissions. Its distinguishing feature is that it holds water inside a zeolite or adsorbent material, releasing it as a dust-suppressing vapour when the cracker fires. CSIR-NEERI's stated USP for SAFAL is that it doubles as a gaseous-emissions absorber, not just a suppressant.
STAR is built around a thermite reaction rather than the standard black-powder burst: a metal-oxide oxidiser reacts with aluminium fuel at a lower ignition temperature than a conventional formulation needs. CSIR-NEERI lists STAR's distinguishing property as a higher luminous intensity, positioning it as the light-and-sound formulation of the three, with a stated negative-ion-generating effect on top.
SWAS relies on a reaction between water and lime (or unreacted aluminium), with the water pre-loaded into hydrogel or calcium-peroxide additives rather than a solid adsorbent. Its 30% PM reduction figure is specifically stated for water-based crackers, which is the narrowest and most literal of the three claims.
None of the three eliminates the bang, the spark or the smell of a firecracker: they change what's inside the burst, not whether there is one. A green cracker still produces a report and a flash; CSIR-NEERI's own figures put all three formulations at 100–120 dBA, in the same sound band as the conventional product they replace.
The Green Fireworks logo and QR code
CSIR-NEERI's identification system has two required parts, and checking only one of them isn't enough:
- The printed Green Fireworks logo: a circular badge reading "Green Fireworks" and "CSIR-NEERI-India," carrying a PESO licence-type reference (regional, headquarters or district-authority) and a certificate number printed on the packaging.
- The QR code, scanned with the dedicated "CSIR NEERI Green QR Code" app rather than a generic scanner. A genuine scan returns the manufacturer's company name and manufacturing unit, the product type, name and variant, the batch and manufacturing/expiry dates, the emission-reduction percentage, the formulation category (SAFAL, STAR or SWAS), the tested noise level in dB, and the certificate's issue and validity dates.
A logo alone, without a QR code that resolves to those specific fields, isn't a functioning verification. The two are designed to be checked together, with the QR record acting as the audit trail behind the printed badge.
Who certifies what: CSIR-NEERI vs PESO
Certification runs through two separate authorities, and neither one issues a green cracker's final market approval alone. A manufacturer first signs a non-disclosure agreement with CSIR-NEERI to adopt one of its formulations, then submits both raw materials (for characterisation) and finished samples (for emissions testing) to CSIR-NEERI or its approved NABL-accredited labs. CSIR-NEERI issues the emissions testing certificate once a sample meets the PM-reduction threshold for its category. PESO (the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation) separately grants in-principle and then final manufacturing/sale approval, based on the disclosed formulation and CSIR-NEERI's certificate. QR coding is issued last, by CSIR-NEERI, once both approvals are in place. For the fuller regulatory picture, covering who licenses manufacturing, who tests emissions and who enforces bursting timing, see fireworks regulatory bodies in India.
The legal basis
Two separate court bodies sit behind the green-cracker system, and they govern different things. The Supreme Court of India, in its judgment dated 23 October 2018 in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 728 of 2015, permitted the manufacture and sale of certified green crackers nationally. The National Green Tribunal, in orders dated 9 November 2020 and 1 December 2020 in O.A. No. 249/2020, separately directed that only green crackers may be used in cities and towns where air quality is moderate or below, a use restriction layered on top of the Supreme Court's manufacture-and-sale permission, not a duplicate of it.
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