One store uses the following claim on the wall:
“Garments made entirely of organic cotton.”
Care must be taken to ensure that it is clearly interpretable exactly which garments are certified [e.g., GOTS] (even with visual/layout solutions) otherwise the communication may be misleading as the consumer may mistakenly think that it is a common feature of all garments in the store.
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A shampoo is packaged in a paper box bearing the claim:
“100% recycled material“
However, inside this outer wrapper is a non-recycled plastic container. This is not obvious to the consumer at the time of purchase. Without a clear message about the subject of the claim (the paper outer box) consumers may think that all the packaging (both outer box and inner bottle) is made from recycled material.
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In the case of claims on single characteristic, such as recyclability, compostability, presence of recycled or bio-based content, etc., these must be based on the scientific substantiation of the claim in question, starting with the use of accurate data concerning the manufacture of the product and taking into account relevant international standards for each claimed characteristic.
As evidence of recycled content, reference can be made to ISO 14021 for verification and reporting of recycled content, measured as the proportion, by mass, of recycled material in a product. Only pre-consumer and post-consumer materials should be considered as recycled content, the percentage of which should be requested from the material manufacturer.
Other examples of recognized scientific evidence can be the methodologies followed by certification schemes such as Aticelca® 501 (for paper recyclability), Plastica Seconda Vita (for recycled plastic content), Remade in Italy® ( for recycled and by-product content), Ok compost – TUV (for compostability), etc.
Last modified on 10/01/2025