Environmental claims on packaging: the 2026 red lines for exporters

Generic environmental claims without specific, verifiable evidence are the explicit target of the EU rules applying from 27 September 2026, and unqualified degradability claims are treated as deceptive under the US FTC Green Guides. California restricts degradability wording on plastic products and ties recyclability labelling to what its collection system actually processes. The defensible pattern is a specific, standard-referenced, infrastructure-qualified claim with documentation behind it. Avoid absolute wording, in-house green logos without a recognised scheme, and claims about a whole product that only one component supports.