Greenwashing Checker
Paste a product description, packaging blurb or brand “sustainability” page. We flag every claim that sounds green but proves nothing.
Label lookup
What each certification actually verifies.
Ingredient decoder
Check the list behind the claims.
How we score
Our transparent 0–100 methodology.
How to use this, and what it means
Greenwashing is marketing that makes a product sound better for people, animals or the planet than the evidence supports. It is rarely an outright lie — it is usually a true-but-meaningless sentence placed where a measurable claim should be. This checker scans pasted copy for the phrase patterns regulators and consumer bodies repeatedly flag, then tells you the question to ask the brand instead.
How the substantiation score works
Every flagged phrase carries a weight: high-risk wording (chemical-free, eco-friendly, carbon-neutral) costs more than emotional filler. Mentions of audited standards add points back, because a certifier's name is something you can independently verify. The result is a 0–100 substantiation score using the same logic as our product ethics scores: claims that can be checked count, claims that cannot do not.
- 80–100 — mostly substantiated: named standards, percentages and verifying bodies.
- 55–79 — mixed: some evidence, but vague wording is doing real work.
- 0–54 — heavy greenwashing risk: atmosphere instead of data.
The four questions that cut through any eco claim
Whatever a label says, the same four questions expose whether there is substance behind it. Brands that can answer them usually publish the answers already.
- Compared to what? A 40% reduction is meaningless without a baseline year or product.
- Measured how? Ask for the standard, the scope and who did the counting.
- Verified by whom? Self-declared beats nothing, but audited beats self-declared.
- Across what share of the range? One certified hero product does not certify a brand.
Claims that usually are worth something
Not every green word is hollow. Certifications with published criteria and a public directory — B Corp, Leaping Bunny, Fairtrade, GOTS, FSC, OEKO-TEX, Certified Vegan, USDA Organic — commit a company to rules an outside body checks. Always confirm the licence on the certifier's own directory rather than trusting a printed logo, because logos get copied and certifications lapse.
Frequently asked questions
Is greenwashing illegal?+
Misleading environmental claims are regulated in the EU, UK and US, but enforcement is slow and most vague wording sits in a legal grey area. That is why the practical defence is reading claims sceptically, not waiting for a ruling.
Does this tool send my text anywhere?+
No. The analysis runs entirely in your browser using a fixed rule set, so nothing you paste is uploaded, stored or used to train anything.
What is the difference between 'plant-based' and 'vegan'?+
Plant-based is a marketing description with no legal definition and can still include honey, beeswax, lanolin or milk derivatives. Certified vegan means an outside body checked the formula and supply chain for animal inputs and testing.
Browse certified vegan productsWhy is 'carbon neutral' flagged as high risk?+
Most carbon-neutral claims are achieved by buying offsets rather than cutting emissions, and offset quality varies enormously. A credible claim states how much came from actual reduction and which registry issued the credits.
Is 'recyclable' packaging actually recycled?+
Often not. Technically recyclable means a facility somewhere can process the material; whether your local kerbside collection accepts it is a separate question, and 'compostable' frequently means industrial composting only.
How does this relate to your product scores?+
We apply the same test at scale: every product on EthiCompare is scored 0–100 on certifications, ingredient transparency, sourcing, packaging and brand ethics, with marketing language carrying no weight.
Read our scoring methodology