Greenwashing Cleaning Products: How to Read Eco Claims in the UK
Leafy labels, green caps and words like "eco" are everywhere in the cleaning aisle. Some point to a real, specific benefit. Others say very little once you look closely.
Greenwashing cleaning products means presenting them as better for the environment than the evidence shows. This guide explains the UK rules in plain English, gives you a six-step label checklist, and shows how we word our own claims.
Greenwashing cleaning products: what it looks like
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says a green claim misleads when it makes a product seem less harmful, or more beneficial, to the environment than it really is. Words matter, but so do colours, pictures, logos and anything left out.
Common patterns in eco cleaning claims include:
- Vague, absolute words such as "eco", "green" or "eco-friendly", with no explanation.
- Part dressed up as the whole: a claim about one ingredient or the bottle, presented as covering the whole product.
- A legal baseline sold as a bonus: highlighting something every comparable product must do anyway.
- Hidden conditions: "biodegradable" or "compostable" with no word on how, where or which part.
- Self-made badges: leaf seals that look like independent approval but aren't.
- Imagery doing the talking: forests and water droplets suggesting a benefit the words never state.
Not every green claim is suspect. Plenty are specific and well evidenced, on conventional and plant-based products alike.
Who polices green claims in the UK?
The CMA enforces consumer protection law and published the Green Claims Code in 2021 to explain how it applies to environmental claims. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) enforces the CAP advertising code, which has a dedicated section on environmental claims.
Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has let the CMA decide for itself whether consumer law has been broken, without going to court first. It can fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover, or £300,000 if that is higher.
The Green Claims Code: six principles in plain English
- Truthful and accurate. The product must live up to the claim, and the overall impression must not overstate the benefit.
- Clear and unambiguous. Terms should mean what shoppers think they mean. Broad words like "eco" need explaining.
- Nothing important hidden. Caveats belong close to the claim, and one good feature shouldn't distract from bigger downsides.
- Fair comparisons. "Greener" than what? Comparisons should be like for like, with the basis made clear.
- Full life cycle. Sourcing, making, transport, use and disposal can all matter. A claim about one stage should say so.
- Substantiated. The business should hold robust, up-to-date evidence before it makes the claim.
ASA green claims: vague and absolute words
The CAP Code says the basis of an environmental claim must be clear, and absolute claims need a high level of substantiation. Unless an ad says otherwise, claims are judged against the product's full life cycle.
ASA rulings have treated unqualified words like "eco" and "sustainable" as absolute claims suggesting no environmental harm across the product's life, and the CMA takes the same view of "green". Ads also must not present a legal obligation that competing products share as a special benefit.
Words to read with care
- "Natural": which parts, and how much? Where an ingredient comes from doesn't tell you its hazards or full impact.
- "Chemical-free": everything is made of chemicals, water included.
- "Non-toxic": HSE guidance says terms like this, "safe" and "eco" should not appear on the labels of products classified as hazardous.
For what "plant-based" does and doesn't mean on a stain remover, read:
Plant-based vs conventional stain removers
How to check a green claim: a 6-step label checklist
- Find the exact claim. Read past the logo and ask what the words cover: the whole product, one ingredient or the bottle.
- Look for specifics. Numbers, ingredient types and stated limits beat "eco" on its own.
- Check caveats sit near the claim. Conditions, such as how to dispose of the product, should be close by.
- Ask whether it's a legal baseline. In Great Britain, surfactants in detergents must generally meet legal biodegradability criteria already.
- Read the hazard label and ingredients. Look for red-bordered diamond pictograms, a signal word and ingredient percentage bands.
- Question logos and seals. Marks from independent schemes with published criteria are less likely to mislead than self-declared badges.
Still unsure? Ask the seller, who should be able to back the claim up.
Hazard labels and ingredient percentages
Under GB CLP, a product classified as hazardous carries red-bordered diamond pictograms and a signal word: "Danger" for more severe hazards, "Warning" for less severe ones. Hazard and precautionary statements explain the risk and how to reduce it.
No pictogram means the product isn't classified as hazardous under those rules. That's a regulatory status, not a promise about every use. Equally, many effective conventional cleaners carry a pictogram, which simply tells you which precautions to take.
Ingredient percentages on detergent labels
GB detergent rules require household labels to show certain ingredient types, including each type of surfactant, in weight bands when above 0.2%: less than 5%, 5–15%, 15–30%, and 30% and more. Perfumes and preservatives must be listed at any level.
Household labels must also give a website where an ingredient list is published. Buying for work? Ask for the safety data sheet (SDS), which supports your COSHH risk assessment.
What does biodegradable mean?
Biodegradation means microorganisms breaking a substance down, ultimately into carbon dioxide, water, mineral salts and new microbial cells. Laboratories screen for it with standard methods, such as the OECD "ready biodegradability" tests, run under set conditions for a fixed period.
In a 2026 ruling, the ASA said shoppers were likely to read "biodegradable" as meaning the whole product breaks down fully, without harmful residue, wherever it is responsibly disposed of. So check whether a claim covers the whole product or one ingredient, and whether disposal conditions apply.
How we word our own label claims
We'd rather show our working than ask you to trust a leaf. Here is what the label of STAIN LIFT Ultra Strength Mat & Textile Stain Remover says, and what each line covers.
- "Plant-powered and biodegradable": our headline label claim. Surfactants in GB detergents must generally meet legal biodegradability criteria, so we don't present that as unique.
- ">30% plant-derived non-ionic green surfactants, vegetable extracts": our ingredient line. ">30%" sits in the top legal weight band, and "plant-derived" describes where the surfactants come from, not that they're harmless.
- "Not hazardous under GB CLP": from our safety data sheet, so there are no hazard pictograms. The SDS also records a pH of around 5 and full water solubility.
- "Made in Britain": where it's made, not an environmental claim.
- "Eliminates stubborn wine, blood, oil & grime": a performance claim about four named stains on mats and textiles, not every stain.
For more on plant-derived surfactants, see:
What are plant-based surfactants?
If any of our wording isn't clear, tell us. Claims should be easy to check, including ours.
Frequently asked questions
What is greenwashing on cleaning products?
Greenwashing is when a product is presented as better for the environment than the evidence supports. On cleaning products it often looks like vague words such as eco or green, leafy imagery, self-made badges, or a claim about one ingredient dressed up as a claim about the whole product.
What is the Green Claims Code?
It is guidance from the Competition and Markets Authority on how consumer law applies to environmental claims. Its six principles say claims must be truthful, clear and complete, compare fairly, consider the full life cycle and be backed by evidence. Since April 2025 the CMA can fine businesses directly for breaking consumer law.
What does biodegradable mean on a cleaning product?
It means microorganisms can break the material down into simpler substances. On a label, check whether the claim covers the whole product or just one ingredient, and whether disposal conditions apply. In Great Britain, surfactants in detergents must generally meet legal biodegradability criteria already.
Does no hazard symbol mean a cleaning product is safe?
Not exactly. No GB CLP pictogram means the product isn't classified as hazardous under those rules, which is useful to know. It isn't a promise for every use, so still follow the directions, store products out of reach of children and patch test fabrics first.
Read the label, then decide
STAIN LIFT is our Ultra Strength Mat & Textile Stain Remover. Its label says it eliminates stubborn wine, blood, oil & grime and is plant-powered and biodegradable, with >30% plant-derived non-ionic green surfactants and vegetable extracts.
It's Made in Britain, an easy spray that revitalises fibres, and its safety data sheet shows it is not hazardous under GB CLP. Want the SDS or more detail on any claim? Just ask us.