Environmental claims guide

Six questions behind a green claim.

Specific claims are easier to examine than a promise that a product is “good for the planet.”

1. What exactly changes: material, packaging, energy or emissions?
2. What product, facility, date and country does the evidence cover?
3. Compared with what baseline, and for how much use?
4. Who measured it, using which method?
5. Can the buyer access the stated repair, recycling or composting route?
6. What important impacts were excluded?

By ReefHuggers · Educational desk research · Reviewed September 30, 2026

Read the qualifier

Industrial compostability does not automatically mean home compostability. Recycled content and recyclability describe different things. A carbon offset is not the same as reducing manufacturing emissions.

Record the source and date. If evidence is unavailable, the honest conclusion is “not established,” rather than a definitive environmental endorsement.

Reference: FTC environmental marketing guidance. Review evidence and local disposal options for your specific product.