Can you still call your packaging "eco-friendly" in 2027? The rules for small sellers

Here is the short answer for 2027.

In the European Union, you cannot print "eco-friendly" on its own any more. In the UK, India and the US the word is not banned outright, but you must be able to prove it. Nobody can prove a word that vague, so in practice it is the same advice everywhere: replace the vague word with a specific, true sentence.

Checked against official sources on 28 October 2026.

We make both plastic and paper packaging on our own lines in Jaipur, and I will say something that may sound odd from a packaging maker. Neither material is eco-friendly by default. Paper is good where it does the job. Thin, well-made plastic is good where paper cannot do the job. For the law, the material matters less than your sentence. Is it specific, and can you show the paper behind it?

What changed, market by market

Let us take them one by one.

The EU: vague green words are banned since 27 September 2026

The EU's Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition added green claims to the list of unfair practices that are always banned. EU countries had to apply it from 27 September 2026.

Four parts of it hit small sellers directly:

1. Generic claims such as "environmentally friendly", "eco-friendly", "green", "biodegradable" and "climate friendly" are banned. The exception is when you can show recognised excellent environmental performance (the EU Ecolabel is the usual example), or when the claim is spelled out clearly on the same label, page or ad.
2. Sustainability labels that are not based on a certification scheme, or set by a public authority, are banned. A home-made green leaf badge saying "Planet Approved" is exactly this.
3. A claim about the whole product, when only one part qualifies, is banned. A recycled box does not make the whole order green.
4. Claims that a product is carbon neutral, or has a reduced impact, because of offsetting are banned.

It is consumer law. If your listings or parcels reach shoppers in an EU country, plan as if it applies to you, even if you ship from India or the UK.

You may have read about a separate EU "Green Claims Directive". It would have added checks before a claim could be used. The European Parliament's Legislative Train lists it as tabled, with negotiations on hold, and no adopted text exists. Do not plan around it in 2027. Also do not relax because of it, because the 2024 rules above already apply.

The UK: the same words, and now direct fines

The UK has no list of banned green words like the EU's. It has the CMA's Green Claims Code (published 20 September 2021), with six principles. Claims must be truthful, clear, complete, fair in comparison, consider the full life cycle, and be backed by evidence.

The code is plain about our problem word. It says terms like "eco" or "sustainable" do not give any real indication of what is meant. It also says a "recyclable" claim must make clear whether it covers the whole product, including the packaging, or only part of it, and should tell people how to recycle it.

What changed is the penalty. Since 6 April 2025 the CMA and the courts can fine a trader up to 10% of worldwide turnover for breaking consumer law. Before that, the CMA had to go to court first.

India: the CCPA guidelines of October 2024

India's Central Consumer Protection Authority issued its Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Greenwashing or Misleading Environmental Claims on 15 October 2024, under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

In plain terms, vague words such as "green" and "eco-friendly" need adequate qualifiers and disclosures. Specific claims need evidence, such as certification or independent verification. The full details can sit behind a QR code or a web link.

So an Indian seller writing "100% eco-friendly packaging" on an Instagram post is in the same position as a seller in Germany. It needs proof, and the proof must match the words.

The US: the FTC Green Guides, and California

The US has had the FTC's Green Guides for years. Section 260.4 says marketers should not make unqualified general environmental benefit claims, because such claims are hard to interpret and almost impossible to back up fully.

For "recyclable", section 260.12 allows an unqualified claim only when recycling facilities are available to a "substantial majority" of consumers or communities where the item is sold. The Guides define that as at least 60%.

California went further with SB 343. Law firms such as Wiley Rein report that products and packaging made on or after 4 October 2026 may not carry the chasing-arrows symbol or a "recyclable" claim unless the material passes the state's own recyclability test. They also report that on 14 July 2026 a federal court stopped the state's Attorney General from enforcing it while the case continues, without changing the date. I have not read the court order myself, so treat the enforcement part as reported. My advice is to design new artwork as if the law will be enforced.

Words to stop using, and what to write instead

The fix is almost always the same. Say which part, what it is, and keep the proof.

Two of these need a word of warning.

"Plastic-free" is hard to get right. Shipping labels, tape adhesives, window patches and some coatings can contain plastic. Before you write it, ask your supplier about every part, not just the box.

"Compostable" is not the same as "goes in the recycling". In England, the government's workplace recycling guidance lists plastic packaging labelled "compostable" or "biodegradable" among the items that are not collected with plastic recycling. So a compostable mailer does not belong in the plastic bin, and your wording should never suggest that it does. Our lesson on Simpler Recycling for small businesses covers the bins themselves.

A three-question test for every green word

Take any green word on your packaging or your listing and ask:

1. Which part? The box, the filler, the tape, the mailer or the product?
2. What exactly? The material, the percentage, or the standard it was tested to.
3. Can I show the document today? Not "my supplier said so on the phone". A document with a date on it.

If any answer is "I am not sure", the claim waits.

I apply the same test to our own range. Our GRS certificate covers packing bags made with 50 to 100% post-consumer recycled polyethylene, and nothing else. It does not cover our stretch film or our bags with 30% recycled content. If a customer of ours printed "GRS certified packaging" on a parcel that used those, the claim would be wrong, even though our company holds a real certificate. This is what "a claim about one part" looks like in real life.

The same goes for FSC. We passed our FSC audit in September 2025, a project our compliance manager led, and our honeycomb paper and void fill paper are available FSC-certified. That does not make every paper product we sell FSC-certified. And FSC-certified wrap inside a parcel does not make the whole parcel FSC.

What to do before your next print run

1. List every place a green word appears. Check product listings, your website footer, printed boxes, printed tape, stickers, inserts, mailers and social posts. Do not forget the attribute fields on marketplaces, where a green word can sit unseen.
2. Fix the digital places first. It costs nothing and you can do it today.
3. Ask each packaging supplier for documents: a spec sheet naming the material, a recycled-content declaration with the percentage, and any certificate with its code, scope and expiry date.
4. Put certificate expiry dates in your calendar. Ours, for example, runs to 23 March 2027. A claim that was true in January can be unsupported in April.
5. For parcels to EU shoppers, stop using packs with a bare green claim now. For other markets, change the artwork at your next reprint.
6. Keep one folder, paper or digital, with the proof for each claim. If a marketplace, a customer or a regulator asks, you can answer in minutes.

One honest limit before I finish. I run a packaging company, not a law firm, and these rules are applied country by country. If you sell a lot into one market, a short check with a lawyer there is money well spent.

If you buy packaging from us and want the spec sheet or certificate behind a claim, ask through our contact page and we will send what we hold for that product.