16 CFR Part 260
For US marketing and packaging teams working out how the FTC reads recyclable, eco-friendly and carbon offset claims. This page covers what you need to know and ways to avoid running into issues.
What we've seen reported
The FTC Green Guides, 16 CFR Part 260, set out how the Federal Trade Commission reads environmental marketing claims under Section 5 of the FTC Act, from "recyclable" and "compostable" to carbon offsets, according to their text.1
Last updated October 2026 · General information only, not legal advice. Sources.
What the rules cover
These are the kinds of wording the FTC Green Guides describe, according to their text, and how they tend to show up in marketing.1
| Phrase or term | In practice |
|---|---|
| "Eco-friendly", "green", "environmentally friendly" | An unqualified general benefit claim, which the Guides describe as hard to substantiate. |
| "Recyclable" | Unqualified only where recycling facilities reach at least 60% of consumers or communities where it is sold. |
| "Compostable" | Qualified where municipal or institutional composting is not available to a substantial majority. |
| "Degradable", "biodegradable" | Unqualified claims for landfilled items are treated as deceptive; within one year is the benchmark. |
| "Carbon offset", "carbon neutral" | Offsets for reductions two or more years away, or required by law, are singled out in the text. |
| "Free of" a named substance | Questioned where the item contains substances posing a similar environmental risk. |
| Certifications and seals | An unqualified seal can read as a general benefit claim; ties to the certifier are disclosed. |
| "Made with renewable materials" | Read as needing to say what the material is and why it is renewable. |
Where it goes wrong
One approved claim ends up in many channels, markets and languages. Along the way it gets shortened, translated and reworded, and some versions end up using the very phrases you are trying to avoid.
"Aria 8 packaging: 50% recycled cardboard, recyclable where facilities exist."
How Arbitr helps
Read every version by hand? Or use AI to check what you publish against what you've already approved.
FAQ
Almost everywhere a product is described. The FTC Green Guides apply to labeling, advertising and all other marketing in any medium, including symbols, logos and brand names,1 and we usually find environmental wording in:
Treat each recyclable claim as approved wording tied to one pack format. When a material, a component or a supplier changes, list every place that claim appears and review them together. State rules can go further than the Guides, so teams selling in California also track SB 343. Our brand compliance page shows how teams keep claims in step.
One record per claim: the exact approved wording, the evidence behind it, any qualifier that has to travel with it, who approved it and where it's published. The Green Guides describe competent and reliable evidence, often scientific, behind environmental claims,1 so the file matters as much as the wording.
How it applies to a specific claim is a question for your legal adviser. Where that claim appears across your markets and languages is a question Arbitr answers.
More people than legal and sustainability. Packaging, e-commerce, social, product naming and agency teams all write environmental wording, and retailers repeat it from your feeds. A short briefing with your own approved claims and qualifiers helps. Rules in other markets, such as the EU's generic claims rules, are on our environmental claims hub.
As at least 60 percent. According to the text, unqualified recyclable claims fit where recycling facilities are available to a substantial majority of consumers or communities where the item is sold, and that term means at least 60 percent.1
Arbitr checks your content against the rules, claims and terms your team has approved, and reports where something doesn't match, by channel, market and language. It reports matches against your rules, not legal verdicts. What to do with each one stays with your team.
