What is Quiet Mark?
Quiet Mark is the international certification programme associated with the UK Noise Abatement Society charitable foundation (est. 1959). Conducting expert acoustic testing and verification of products Quiet Mark has over the past 13 years driven change in manufacturing worldwide to prioritise noise reduction within the design of everyday machines, appliances, technologies and house build materials, creating the first one-stop platform for third-party approved noise reduction solutions for every living space to health and well-being.
Through specialist acoustic measurement and product assessment, Quiet Mark identifies the quietest products in over 80 product categories giving consumers, trade buyers, architects and specifiers a more informed choice about the sound levels of the products they buy to empower responsible product sourcing. The Quiet Mark scheme drives designers and manufacturers to reduce sound levels of their products enabling households and workplaces to rebalance the soundscape reducing stressful unwanted noise.
Why Quiet Mark?
"I couldn't hear my baby crying over the noise of the hairdryer"
The damaging effect of excessive noise on health, productivity and social cohesion is seriously underestimated. World Health Organisation research shows that environmental noise pollution affects mental and physical health and is now second only to air pollution as the world’s largest killer pollutant. Across an estimated population of 340 million people, at least 1 million years of healthy living are lost each year due to noise pollution in Western Europe.
In our fast-paced lives, vibrancy is exciting and necessary. But this heightened state can only be valued if there is also the opportunity to choose the alternatives of calm, quiet and the chance to switch off. Quiet Mark was established to provide a credible, independent public health product symbol and directory to help consumers and industry easily identify quietest products for the home, at work and for public spaces.
Our Partnerships
Quiet Mark has established a unique alliance of longstanding partnerships with leading retailer groups to help shoppers find the quietest appliance technology available on the market at point of sale, including John Lewis & Partners, Argos Sainsburys, Currys, Harrods and Appliance City.
The distinctive purple Quiet Mark on certified products is a trusted symbol of excellence in quiet high-performance design, our retail and industry partners enable a more informed choice with a powerful example of collective care to combat stress-related noise, an important health and environmental issue.
Our Heritage
The Noise Abatement Society (NAS) was founded in 1959 by business entrepreneur John Connell OBE who believed that being exposed to excessive noise profoundly affected health, children's learning, productivity, and general quality of life – he called noise ‘the forgotten pollutant’.
John almost single-handedly lobbied the Noise Abatement Act through Parliament, when in 1960, noise became a statutory nuisance for the first time in the UK. His practical problem-solving included introducing rubber dustbin lids and plastic milk crates to reduce urban disturbance, stopping night flights, and in the early 70’s he commissioned detailed planning for a revolutionary Thames Estuary Airport directing flight paths out to sea.
Today the internationally respected NAS seeks to accelerate change to protect future generations from a worsening aural environment by disseminating new methods of sound management, running an awareness programme for schools, incentivising industry to design low-noise technology and providing the only national helpline dedicated solely to the problems of noise. NAS cannot change the human condition, but it can offer practical ways to support those who wish to exercise choice in an otherwise noisy world.
For more details - http://www.quietmark.com
Contact PR team
Visit press office