Greenwashing risk, what claims should we avoid?

The FTC’s updated Green Guides (and the EU’s 2024 Green Claims Directive) are aggressive. Avoid these unless you have third-party verified data backing them:

• “Carbon neutral” without Climate Neutral / SBTi verification + offsets. The FTC is litigating this in 2026.
• “Net zero”, same. Defined timeline + verified science-based targets required.
• “Eco-friendly” / “green” / “sustainable”, meaningless without qualification. Replace with specific, measurable claims (“packaging is 100% recycled PET”, “25% less water than dairy equivalent, source: [study]”).
• “Saves X gallons of water” without lifecycle citation. Always cite the source on hover.
• “Spares X animals”, if the math is fuzzy, the FTC can call it deceptive. Use conservative numbers + cite peer-reviewed studies (Poore & Nemecek 2018 is the standard reference).
• “Made with renewable energy”, verify your manufacturer’s actual energy mix; don’t inherit the claim from a contract manufacturer’s marketing.
• “Biodegradable”, FTC bans this without specifying conditions (most “biodegradable” plastic doesn’t degrade in landfill).

Safe pattern: every sustainability claim on Magento PDP needs a citation attribute (URL to source), surfaced on hover. If you can’t cite it, don’t claim it. Vegan customers are sophisticated and quick to call out greenwashing on Reddit / TikTok, the brand-damage cost of one viral callout is bigger than any conversion lift you got from the fuzzy claim.