INDEPENDENT. RECOGNIZED. SECURE.
Legally sound certification:
Get free adviceEmpCo fact sheet
A 2025 study by The Goodwins analysed environmental claims in print advertising. More than half of them would no longer be permissible under the EmpCo Directive. In retail and the beverage industry it is up to three quarters. The most common problem is always the same: missing evidence and missing independent verification.
over 50 %
of the analysed environmental claims in print advertising would be inadmissible from 2026
up to 75 %
in the retail and beverage industries
27
EU member states have transposed the directive into national law since the end of March 2026
27 Sep 2026
from this date the rules apply in practice
The full document
The document itself carries every source, derivation and piece of evidence in full, along with the diagrams and tables.
The complete fact sheet is available in exchange for your contact details.
Environmental claims such as “recyclable”, “XX % recycled content”, “microplastic-free”, “dispose of with waste paper” or “plastic-free” may only be used from September if they are substantiated by independent third-party certification based on standards and legislation. Self-made labels and pure self-declarations are prohibited; injunctions and penalties are possible.
The directive applies across the EU and therefore to everyone placing products on the European market. It affects every company that puts an environmental claim on its goods or advertises with one online. According to the study, the cosmetics, cleaning, food, beverage and furnishing sectors are particularly affected.
Private-label manufacturers and retail brands have their own route: the supplier has itself certified together with its upstream supply chain, and the brand owner receives a sub-licence on that basis, without having to demand access to the supplier’s sensitive supply chain data.
Sorting it out first
In a free initial call we set out which rules apply to you, which proof carries them and what it requires. No preparation needed on your side.
In more detail
The fact sheet names two steps: review your own communication, and do it now, because penalties follow afterwards. That means not only packaging but everything a company says about environmental properties, online and offline.
Demand for sustainable product solutions is unbroken and still rising. The directive does not ban environmental claims, it demands evidence. Those who have it can carry on making claims while others have to delete theirs.
Planning certainty for your own business, the transparency your customers now expect, and the ability to keep listing and promoting your products. Certification runs through flustix and its accredited testing and certification partners.
Source: The Goodwins (2025): State of Green Claims Report, thegoodwins.de
As of: April 2026
Editorial responsibility: Malte Biss, Managing Director of flustix GmbH
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Our own consumer studies, technical documents on new regulations and scientific derivations, all on one page.
Free claim check
From 27 September 2026, every environmental claim on a product or its packaging must be substantiated. Send us up to five of your claims and we will set out which of them hold, which need specifying and where independent evidence is required. You receive a signed test report as a PDF within two to three working days. Free of charge and without obligation.
