Greenwashing in fashion: what the EU rule in force since September 27, 2026 and the FTC Green Guides forbid

Greenwashing in fashion means selling clothes with an environmental claim the brand cannot back up. Since September 27, 2026, the European Union has had a specific rule against the vaguest versions of it, and the United States has long had written guidance saying much the same thing in softer words. This piece sets out what each actually says, and what regulators have already done to fashion brands.

What the EU rule says

Directive (EU) 2024/825, titled Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition, amends the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. The European Commission's page says it "entered into application on 27 September 2026."

According to Cos Law's summary of the text, an environmental claim is any representation that states or implies that a product, category, brand or trader has a positive or zero environmental impact, is less harmful than comparable products, or has improved over time. Claims made through symbols, colors, images or brand names count too. Generic claims are prohibited "unless the trader is able to demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance." The examples the summary gives are "environmentally friendly," "green," "ecological" and "biodegradable."

A second change targets labels. Displaying a sustainability label that is not based on a recognised certification scheme is added to the list of practices prohibited in all circumstances. That matters for fashion, where brands have long made their own in-house badges.

Two things the rule does not do

First, it does not ban the words. Per the same summary, a claim is not treated as generic if the relevant specifications are clearly and prominently explained on the same medium, such as the packaging, website or advertisement. A brand can say a jacket is made from recycled polyester, and then say exactly how much.

Second, enforcement is expected to start gently. The summary says authorities may take a phased and proportionate approach early on, while businesses are expected to comply by September 27, 2026 through reasonable measures. For stock already on shelves, corrective measures can include updating online claims, using stickers or showing corrective information at the point of sale.

What the US guidance says

The US approach is older and written as guidance. The FTC's Green Guides, in 16 CFR part 260, say in section 260.4: "It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product, package, or service offers a general environmental benefit." The same section adds that because it is highly unlikely marketers can substantiate all reasonable interpretations of such claims, "marketers should not make unqualified general environmental benefit claims."

Note the wording. The Guides say marketers should not, not that they must not. They are guidance on how the Commission views deception, not a statute with a list of banned words. On carbon offsets, section 260.5 says marketers should use competent and reliable scientific and accounting methods and ensure they do not sell the same reduction more than once. The EU rule and the US guidance agree on the core idea, that a vague green claim is hard to prove, and differ on how firmly it is stated.

What regulators have already done to fashion brands

In September 2022 the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, the ACM, found that H&M had made "unclear and insufficiently substantiated sustainability claims," citing terms such as ecodesign and conscious. It said the same of Decathlon. H&M agreed to adjust or stop claims it could not substantiate, remove its Conscious Choice indicator from its online shop worldwide, donate 500,000 euros to independent organizations and accept two years of ACM monitoring. The ACM did not impose a fine because of that pledge, per The Fashion Law.

Board member Cateautje Hijmans van den Bergh said: "Consumers should be confident that [companies'] sustainability claims have a basis in fact."

In August 2025 Italy's competition authority, the AGCM, fined Infinite Styles Services, which operates Shein's website in Europe, 1 million euros. ESG Today reports the authority found claims about a circular system and recyclability false or at least confusing, and that Shein's goals of cutting emissions 25% by 2030 and reaching zero by 2050 were presented vaguely while its emissions rose in 2023 and 2024. Shein said it cooperated fully and has strengthened its internal review processes.

How to read a green claim on a garment

Ask four questions. Does the claim name a material, a percentage or a standard, or just a mood? Is the number about the product or about one component? Is the label backed by a certification scheme you can look up? Is the date and scope given? A tag that says conscious and nothing else fails all four. Our guides to what sustainable fashion means and to GOTS, OEKO-TEX, B Corp and Fair Trade cover the claims and labels that do carry a standard.

What we do not know yet

We found no enforcement action under the new directive in the sources we opened, which is not surprising a few weeks after it applied. The directive's national transposition varies by country, and we have not read each national law. The only fashion cases cited here predate the rule, so they show the pattern regulators care about, not how the new text will be applied.

Our take

The test is simple and it is the same in Brussels and Washington: if the claim is general, prove it or drop it. For shoppers, the useful habit is to trust claims that name something checkable. What we would watch is the first fashion case brought under the directive. What we would skip is any tag, badge or hashtag that tells you a garment is good for the planet and names nothing.