Which claims can a brand safely make?
A claim must hold for the finished product, not only for the raw material. This page is not legal advice.
Claims that need proof
- Free of animal-derived content: needs the full composition, including coating, adhesive and dye.
- Degradable: needs test results, with the standard and conditions named, on the finished product.
- General environmental claims: often rejected without comparative data, and strictly regulated in some export markets.
- Strong and durable: needs tensile, flex and abrasion data with the methods.
The safe way
- State only what was tested, with method and date.
- Keep material facts apart from marketing hope.
- Get the supplier's composition and test results in writing before you quote them.
Export markets
Rules on environmental claims are tightening in several destination markets. Check the rules of the market you sell in.
What the rules say, as far as we read
- US: the FTC Green Guides. Per a summary of 16 CFR 260.4 on Cornell LII, general environmental benefit claims without qualification are risky. Per the summary of 260.8, an unqualified “degradable” claim needs strong scientific proof. We have not opened the official eCFR text.
- EU: Directive (EU) 2024/825 applies from 27 September 2026, according to a European Commission page read on 22 Oct 2026. That page does not detail the ban on general claims, and we have not read the official text.
- Indonesia: we found no specific rule on environmental claims. The academic work we read, by summary, points to the general consumer protection framework. We have not read the articles themselves, so ask your legal adviser.