New EU Greenwashing Rules Put Beauty Sustainability Claims Under More Scrutiny

September 27, 2026 · 4:20 p.m. ET

By Regina Bonham Bordeaux

A beauty product does not have to be made by a European company to be affected by the European Union’s new anti-greenwashing rules.

Starting September 27, 2026, new consumer-protection rules apply across EU member states that restrict vague environmental claims, unsupported sustainability labels, and some climate-related marketing. For U.S. beauty brands selling products to European consumers, that means the claims used on EU-facing packaging, advertising, websites, and product pages have to follow the new requirements.^[1]

For shoppers, the bigger change is straightforward: words such as “green” and “eco-friendly” are no longer supposed to do all the work by themselves.

What changed

The rules come from Directive (EU) 2024/825, which updates European consumer-protection law around sustainability and environmental marketing.

Among the practices now restricted are broad environmental claims that are not backed by recognized environmental performance, sustainability labels that are not based on an approved certification scheme or public authority, and environmental claims about an entire product when the benefit actually applies to only one part of it.^[1]

The directive specifically points to terms such as “environmentally friendly,” “eco-friendly,” “green,” “climate friendly,” “biodegradable,” and “biobased” as examples of claims that can be too broad when the brand does not clearly explain what the environmental benefit actually is.^[1]

That does not mean those words disappear completely.

A brand can make a more specific environmental claim when it clearly tells shoppers what the claim refers to and can support it. Saying exactly how much recycled material a package contains, for example, gives shoppers more information than simply putting an “eco-friendly” badge on the front.

U.S. beauty brands are not exempt when they sell in Europe

The rules apply to business-to-consumer marketing in the EU. That means a company based in the United States does not get an exemption simply because the product was developed or manufactured in America.

When a U.S. skincare, haircare, or other beauty brand markets and sells a product to EU consumers, its EU-facing commercial claims fall within the European consumer-protection framework.^[2]

The U.S. version of that same product is not automatically governed by EU law.

But shoppers here could still notice changes.

Large beauty companies often sell the same product lines across multiple markets. They can maintain separate packaging and marketing for the U.S. and Europe, but some brands may decide it is simpler to use more specific sustainability language across markets rather than maintain two versions.

That could mean fewer unexplained green badges and more precise statements about recycled packaging, refill reductions, sourcing, certifications, or other environmental attributes—even on products sold in the U.S.

What about sustainability seals?

The new rules also make it harder for a brand-created badge to function as proof simply because it looks official.

A sustainability label generally needs to be based on a qualifying certification scheme or established by a public authority under the new EU framework.^[1]

That matters in beauty, where packaging can carry leaves, globes, seals, green colors, and phrases that create a strong environmental impression without telling shoppers exactly what was evaluated.

The visual impression counts too. EU law defines environmental claims broadly enough to include text, graphics, symbols, labels, brand names, and other representations that imply an environmental benefit.^[2]

Climate claims face another restriction

The rules also target claims that a product has a neutral, reduced, or positive greenhouse-gas impact when that claim is based on offsetting emissions outside the product’s own value chain.^[1]

For shoppers, that means a phrase such as “carbon neutral” deserves more scrutiny than the two words on the package provide.

The useful questions are what emissions were actually reduced, what was measured, and whether the claim describes changes to the product and its production or relies primarily on offsets elsewhere.

The U.S. already warns brands about vague green claims—but the rules are different

American shoppers may recognize some of this language already.

The Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides tell U.S. marketers not to make broad, unqualified environmental-benefit claims such as “green” or “eco-friendly.” The FTC says those statements are difficult to substantiate and recommends clear, prominent, specific qualifications instead.^[3]

But the legal structure is different.

The FTC Green Guides are administrative interpretations intended to help companies avoid deceptive advertising. They are not independently enforceable rules, although the FTC can challenge environmental marketing it considers unfair or deceptive under existing law.^[4]

The EU rules go further by adding specific practices to its consumer-protection framework.

What shoppers should look for now

The easiest way to evaluate a sustainability claim is to look past the headline word.

Instead of:

Eco-friendly packaging

look for information such as:

Bottle made with 70% post-consumer recycled plastic

Instead of:

A more sustainable refill

look for:

This refill uses 60% less plastic than the brand’s standard bottle

And instead of treating an unfamiliar green seal as proof, find out who created the certification, what standards it requires, and what part of the product was actually evaluated.

Specific claims give shoppers something to check. Broad environmental language mostly asks shoppers to supply the meaning themselves.

What The Beauty Briefing is watching

The biggest question now is how global beauty brands respond.

EU consumer-protection authorities have acknowledged that companies can face practical issues with existing inventory and packaging during the transition, particularly products produced or placed into distribution before the September 27 application date. Authorities have agreed on a proportionate approach to genuine old-stock problems while still expecting companies to move toward compliance.^[5]

For U.S. shoppers, the interesting part comes next: whether brands change only their European packaging and websites or begin using the same more specific sustainability claims globally.

Either way, the new rules reinforce a useful buying principle that applies well beyond Europe:

“Green” is not the evidence. The specific claim underneath it is.

The Beauty Briefing’s guide, How to Evaluate Cosmetic Marketing Claims Before You Buy, explains how to separate useful product claims from language that sounds more informative than it actually is.