THE INDUSTRY'S PACKAGING CHALLENGE
When the material is a classified dangerous good, the bag stops being a containment choice and becomes a compliance requirement. UN-certified FIBCs are tested and marked to a defined performance level under the UN Model Regulations and the transport rules that flow from them — ADR for road, IMDG for sea, IATA for air. The bag specification has to match the material's UN number, hazard class, and packing group exactly. Get it wrong and the consequence shows up at the port of loading or, worse, in transit, not at the point of order.
For distributors and shippers, the risk isn't just a substandard bag. A bag that doesn't match the DG classification is a rejected shipment and a compliance exposure for your customer. This is where sourcing on price alone is a false economy, and where the documentation behind the bag matters as much as the bag.
WHAT'S TYPICALLY PACKED
Hazardous goods applications India Pack supplies UN-certified bags for include:
- Classified solid dangerous goods (specific UN numbers — confirm at specification stage)
- DG-classified chemical powders and granules
- Certain oxidising and reactive solids
- Specific waste streams classified for DG transport
- Materials requiring packing group I, II, or III certification
- Others
UN-CERTIFIED FIBC CONSTRUCTIONS
UN-Certified FIBC — the core specification
UN-certified bags are required for transporting classified dangerous goods. The bag carries the UN certification mark, the bag type code (for example 13H1 for a coated woven PP FIBC, 13H3 for one with a liner), and the packing group it's rated for. The construction, fabric, seams, and safe working load are all tested and certified together to a defined performance level. The certification is specific to a bag design — it isn't a property you can add to a standard bag after the fact.
UN-Certified with Liner — for moisture-sensitive or fine DG powders
Where the dangerous good is a fine powder or moisture-sensitive, a UN-certified construction with an integrated liner (bag type code 13H3) provides the barrier while keeping the certification intact. The liner must be part of the certified design, not added separately. Confirm the requirement at the specification stage.
DG-classified combustible material — UN plus anti-static
If your dangerous good is also a combustible powder handled in a flammable atmosphere, it may need both UN certification and an anti-static construction (Type C or D). These requirements stack. We confirm both before quoting. See anti-static types on the Chemical Industry page for how the Type C/D decision is made.
Not sure which construction suits your customers' application? Tell us what material they're handling and how their line runs — we'll recommend the right bag.
UNDERSTANDING UN MARKING & PACKING GROUPS
A UN-certified FIBC carries a marking that encodes its certification. Reading it matters, because the bag must match your material.
Bag type code (e.g. 13H1, 13H3, 13H4) — identifies the FIBC construction.
The four authorized structural types of UN Certified Bulk Bags are:
- 13H1: Woven plastics, uncoated and without an inner liner.
- 13H2: Woven plastics, coated (laminated) and without an inner liner.
- 13H3: Woven plastics, uncoated and featuring an integrated inner liner.
- 13H4: Woven plastics, coated and featuring an integrated inner liner.
Packing group rating — the danger level the bag is tested for:
Group I — greatest danger
Group II — medium danger
Group III — minor danger
Marking also includes the maximum gross mass, the year of manufacture, and the certifying country.
A bag certified for packing group III cannot be used for a group I or II material. The packing group of your material determines the test performance level the bag must achieve, so confirm it and provide it at the specification stage. It's the single variable that most often determines which certification is required.
HOW INDIA PACK SERVES HAZARDOUS GOODS BUYERS
Dangerous goods are where a wrong bag has the highest cost — a rejected shipment, a compliance exposure, a safety incident. We treat the specification accordingly. Before recommending a bag or engaging a factory, we confirm the UN number, hazard class, packing group, transport mode, and whether anti-static construction also applies.
We genuinely supply UN-certified FIBCs for dangerous goods, sourced from factories that build and test to the required performance level. We don't quote a UN bag until the classification details are confirmed, because a certification that doesn't match the material is worse than no bag at all.
Supplier certifications relevant to your order — UN certification documentation and test certificates, SWL test certificates, plus additional documentation on request — are obtained and documented for you as part of every shipment. The factories supplying your order hold the relevant UN certification and build to ISO 21898; these are factory certifications, not certifications India Pack itself holds.
See how procurement teams across construction and industrial sectors have worked with India Pack: Success Stories
