Contents
Which labels are actually checked?
Short answer: far fewer than the packaging suggests. The EU Ecolabel is a Type I label under ISO 14024 — an independent third party sets the criteria and audits them — while 'recyclable' or 'refillable' claims under ISO 14021 are self-declared and audited by no one. This guide sorts the verified from the merely printed.
Of the three ISO label types, only Type I — the EU Ecolabel's family — is certified and audited by an independent third party.
ISO sorts environmental labels into three types. Type I, defined by ISO 14024, is a multi-criteria label where an independent body sets the thresholds and audits the product against them. The EU Ecolabel, created in 1992 by Council Decision 92/481/EEC, is exactly this: criteria are set and audited by a third party, not by the manufacturer.
Type II, governed by ISO 14021, covers self-declared claims such as 'recyclable' or 'refillable'. Here the manufacturer writes the claim and no third party audits the statement. The words may be true, but nothing on the pack proves it.
Type III declarations take a third route: they publish quantified environmental data for a product, verified against programme rules but without a pass-or-fail grade. They inform buyers rather than certify winners. The full side-by-side breakdown sits on the Eco Labels Compared page.
The EU Ecolabel is a Type I label: an independent third party sets the criteria and audits compliance before the logo appears.
Created in 1992 by Council Decision 92/481/EEC, the EU Ecolabel predates most of the green claims surrounding it on the shelf. Because it sits in the ISO 14024 Type I family, the criteria are not written by the applicant and the audit is not performed by the applicant.
That structure is the whole answer to the question of which labels are actually verified. When a household product carries the EU Ecolabel, someone other than the seller has checked it against published thresholds. When it carries a self-declared claim instead, the only verifier is the marketing department.
Under ISO 14021 the manufacturer writes the claim and nobody audits it — legal, common, and weak.
ISO 14021 governs Type II claims: 'recyclable', 'refillable' and similar wording that a company declares about its own product. The standard sets rules for how such claims should be phrased, but it does not send an auditor. No third party checks the statement.
This is why two bottles can look equally green while only one has been independently assessed. The difference is not in the ink but in who stands behind it.
The number inside a recycling triangle names the resin — it never said your kerbside bin accepts it.
From 27 September 2026, 'eco-friendly' and 'climate neutral' become banned generic claims across the EU.
| Label or claim | Who verifies it | Key number | What the number means |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU Ecolabel | Independent third party (ISO 14024 Type I) | 1992 | Year it was created by Council Decision 92/481/EEC |
| 'Recyclable' or 'refillable' (ISO 14021) | The manufacturer itself | 0 audits | No third party checks a self-declared claim |
| OECD 301 ready-biodegradability | A test laboratory | 60% in 28 days | Share of theoretical oxygen demand needed to pass |
| EN 13432 compostable packaging | A certification body | 90% in 6 months | Biodegradation required, plus 90% disintegration in 12 weeks |
| EN 13432 heavy metals | A certification body | ≤ 100 mg/kg | Maximum heavy-metal content in the packaging |
| EU energy label | Regulatory scheme, data in EPREL | A–G from 1 Mar 2021 | Rescaled from A+++–G; the QR code opens the EPREL entry |
| SPI resin code | Nobody — it names the resin | 1–7, since 1988 | The digit identifies the polymer, not kerbside acceptance |
| OEKO-TEX Standard 100, Class I | An independent institute | 16 mg/kg | Formaldehyde cap for baby textiles |
Compostable is a standard with pass marks; biodegradable without a named test is just a word.
The OECD 301 ready-biodegradability test passes a material when it reaches 60% of the theoretical oxygen demand within 28 days. That is a measured result, not an adjective.
EN 13432, the European standard for compostable packaging, is stricter and more specific: 90% biodegradation within 6 months, 90% disintegration within 12 weeks, and heavy metals at or below 100 mg/kg. Packaging that meets it has passed three separate numerical tests.
A pack that says only 'biodegradable', with no standard code and no test conditions, proves none of this. The full breakdown of both standards is on the Biodegradable vs Compostable Standards page.
Two minutes with the pack and a phone is enough to classify almost any claim.
The procedure below works in the aisle. Each step has a typical failure — the point where most claims fall apart — and the whole check takes less time than comparing prices.
From 27 September 2026, step four becomes law: Directive (EU) 2024/825 bans generic claims such as 'eco-friendly' and 'climate neutral', and member states had to transpose it by 27 September 2025. Until enforcement bites, the burden is still on the buyer. The detailed walkthrough lives on the How to Check an Eco Claim page.
Each entry below is a public standard or EU legal act; the numbers on this page quote their thresholds directly.