From a conference brochure for Nano Tech Taiwan 2006: “Taiwan’s pioneering Nano Mark campaign links industry, academia, and government to promote the development and marketing of quality products employing nanotechnology and protect consumer rights. Directed by the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Taiwan, ROC), it is the world’s first such national-scale program to encompass classification, standardization, regulation, and promotion of nanotechnology and related products…The graphic design is based on the symbol for ‘infinity’ to evoke the infinite possibilities this revolution promises.”
There’s not much on the web about this program — at least in English — but the current goal appears to be to verify that products claiming to contain nanoparticles (under 100 nm) do in fact do so, starting with TiO2 products. It’s a modest goal, but it’s a start on the pathway to developing some kind of system for enabling consumers to be confident that nanotech products do what they claim. Maybe a modest goal is the best way to get going on this long-term project, which will become more important over time as nanotech products advance from materials, to devices, to nanosystems. —Christine
