“Environmentally friendly” on a website: Turkish and EU rules.
In Turkey, writing “environmentally friendly”, “green” or “sustainable” on a website is subject to an explanation requirement: the claim must state which part of the product or which stage of its life cycle it covers and how it was measured. This rule has been in the Turkish Advertising Board’s guide since 2022 and directly in the Commercial Advertising Regulation since August 1, 2026; in the EU, a general environmental claim aimed at consumers has been prohibited since September 27, 2026.
Is writing “environmentally friendly” allowed?
Not without explanation; it can be written when it says which part of the product is beneficial to the environment, and by what measure. Which rule applies depends on who the sale is made to: the Commercial Advertising Regulation and the Advertising Board’s guide cover advertising aimed at consumers, and a website is an advertising medium too. For a manufacturer that sells only to companies, an environmental claim is judged under Article 55 of the Turkish Commercial Code — a false or misleading statement about one’s own business; in the EU, Directive 2006/114 on business-to-business advertising says the advertiser can be asked to prove its factual claims. So on a B2B website the prohibition is narrow, but the burden of proof is the same.
What is the rule in Turkey?
Since August 1, 2026, the rule has been directly in the Regulation. The amendment added a definition of “environmental claim” (Art. 4(1)(r)) and asked for three things: general environmental terms may not be used without explanation or in a way that creates ambiguity (Art. 17(5)); the claim states clearly which part, component or life-cycle process of the product it concerns, and the measurement method is given in the advertisement, on a linked website or in a pop-up (Art. 17(6)); certificates and approvals in the claim are proven with documents obtained from a competent authority, a university or an accredited or independent body (Art. 17(3)). The Advertising Board’s 2022 guide already set the same requirement for phrases such as “green”, “sustainable”, “eco”, “nature-friendly”, “carbon neutral” and “recyclable”.
Which phrases did the Advertising Board stop?
At its meeting on May 14, 2026 (file 2026/1537), Turkey’s Advertising Board stopped the phrases “environmentally friendly” and “friendly to the environment, nature and sea” (our translation of the Turkish originals) used for cleaning products sold on a DIY retailer’s website. The reason was that it had not been explained at which stage and with which part the product benefits the environment. The same bulletin contains a stop decision for a similar phrase by an individual seller on a marketplace. The decisions were made before the August 1, 2026 amendment, under the Regulation’s old text; the new text turned this reasoning into a rule.
What has been prohibited in the EU since September 27, 2026?
Four practices aimed at consumers are now considered unfair in all circumstances. Directive 2024/825 added the following to the blacklist of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive: a sustainability label not based on a certification scheme or a public authority; a general environmental claim when recognized excellent environmental performance cannot be shown; extending a claim valid for one aspect to the whole product or business; and claiming, based on emissions offsetting, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive greenhouse gas impact. Member states' national transposition measures have applied since September 27, 2026. The website of a Turkish manufacturer selling to EU consumers falls under these rules.
What happened to the “Green Claims” Directive?
It has not been withdrawn yet, but its withdrawal is planned. The 2023 proposal providing for prior verification of environmental claims is on the list of proposals intended to be withdrawn within six months in the Commission Work Programme 2027, which the Commission sent to the Council on November 4, 2026. On November 10, 2026, Parliament’s file still showed it awaiting the Council’s position. The practical meaning: what is binding in the EU today is the blacklist above; the prior verification requirement is not in force.
How is a claim written with a certificate or label?
By the certificate’s own rules. In communication aimed at EU consumers, OEKO-TEX wants only the wording it provides to be used next to the label. Under Textile Exchange standards, the claim on a web page carries the standard’s name, the certification body and the license number and also says that only products covered by a valid transaction certificate are certified. With FSC, the license code appears at least once in every promotional material. In all three, the claim is tied to a certificate and limited to that certificate’s scope; the details of the marks are in the ISO, accreditation and CE marks guide.
How are future targets written?
With a plan, a base year and a calculation method. The Advertising Board’s guide wants a future target to be in a public, verifiable strategy document. In the EU, a future performance claim aimed at consumers requires a detailed implementation plan with measurable, time-bound targets, and the plan is regularly verified by an independent third party.
On November 10, 2026, the climate roadmap page of Fersan Tekstil had this structure: it gave the site’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions as 12,698 tCO2e in the 2023 base year, 6,994 tCO2e actual in 2025 (−45%) and a 2028 target of 5,502 tCO2e (−57%), wrote the method (GHG Protocol, site boundary, market-based Scope 2) and stated clearly that Scope 3 is outside the plan. Next to the figures there is one more label: “Fersan calculation · not independently verified”. For a manufacturer selling business to business, this is an honest statement of limits; in a future claim aimed at EU consumers, independent verification would be required.
How is a packaging manufacturer’s environmental claim different?
In the EU there is an additional rule for packaging. The Packaging Regulation (PPWR), which has applied since August 12, 2026, accepts environmental claims only for properties beyond the legal minimum and requires stating whether the claim covers the whole packaging unit, a part of it or all of the company’s packaging; the harmonized material label comes from August 12, 2028. We cover a packaging manufacturer’s website separately in the packaging manufacturer website guide.
What does a correctly written environmental claim look like?
It has five parts: which product, which part or process, how much, how it was measured, and with which certificate, on which date. The table below breaks a general phrase into these parts; the sentences in the right column are not real data but writing examples.
From a general environmental phrase to a clear claim
- AGeneral phrase: an unexplained environmental term
- 01Which product
- 02Which part or process
- 03How much
- 04How it was measured
- 05With which certificate, on which date
| General phrase | What is missing | Example of a clear claim (not real data) |
|---|---|---|
| “Environmentally friendly fabric” | Which part or process, how much, how it was measured | 50% of this fabric’s fiber is recycled polyester; the share is verified against the scope in the product certificate. |
| “Green production” | Which process, which measure, which period | 40% of our dye house’s electricity in 2025 came from the solar panels on the site’s roof (annual energy record). |
| “Sustainable packaging” | Unit, part or all packaging | Our cartons (not all of our packaging) are made of recycled board. |
| “Carbon neutral product” | Does it rely on offsetting; prohibited toward EU consumers | Our site’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions fell by this much compared with 2023; method and boundary on this page. |
| “Zero emissions by 2030” | Plan, interim targets, verification | The target, with its base year and interim targets, is in this roadmap; annual results are updated on the same page. |
How to test it: search your site for the words “environment”, “nature”, “green”, “sustainable”, “eco” and “carbon”. For every sentence that comes up, can you write the answer to the questions which part or process, which measure and which certificate? If you cannot, the sentence is either explained or removed.
The information here is not legal advice; confirm which rule applies to you from official sources and consult a lawyer about your own situation.
Let’s rewrite the environmental claims on your site together according to these five parts, with each sentence’s certificate and date next to it.
For a site that shows your certificates as a record buyers can verify, B2B website builds and measures the certificate page, the product scope and the path to a quote together.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
I sell only to companies; do these rules bind me?
Turkey’s Commercial Advertising Regulation and EU Directive 2024/825 cover advertising aimed at consumers. If you sell only to companies, your environmental claim is judged under the unfair competition provision of the Turkish Commercial Code, and in the EU under Directive 2006/114; both prohibit false or misleading statements, and the burden of proof is yours.
Does writing “recyclable” also require an explanation?
Yes. The Advertising Board’s 2022 guide counts “recyclable” among the general phrases that may not be used without explanation: it should state which part of the product is recyclable and under which conditions.
If I have a certificate, can I write “environmentally friendly”?
You can write what the certificate covers, in the certificate’s own wording. If the certificate covers one property of the product, the claim stays limited to that property; programs such as OEKO-TEX want only their own wording to be used in communication aimed at EU consumers.