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Can I call my packaging 'eco-friendly' or 'sustainable' on my product page without getting into trouble?

Not casually, ASCI's Green Guidelines (effective February 2024) require any absolute claim like 'eco-friendly', 'sustainable', or 'planet-friendly' to be backed by robust, verifiable data or a credible certification, and you can't use a recycling symbol or green visual cue that implies an environmental benefit you haven't actually substantiated. ASCI has already fined Indian brands over claims like '100% natural' and 'chemical-free' that didn't hold up, so treat every green line on your PDP and packaging as something you'd need to defend with documentation, not just something that sounds nice. If you're not there yet, say what's specifically true, 'FSC-certified outer box', instead of a blanket 'eco-friendly'.

Go deeper

3 resources, 3 India-specific, 2 link-checked.

📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Beginner

The primary source, straight from ASCI, read this before any secondary summary so you know exactly what 'substantiate with robust data' means in the regulator's own words.

Guidelines for Environmental/Green Claims, Press Release

From ASCI by ASCI

  • Official effective-date and scope of the Green Guidelines
  • Defines what counts as an absolute vs comparative environmental claim
  • States that future 'green' promises need an already-existing actionable plan
Open ascionline.in →
📄 Article
✓ Link checked India Free Beginner

Good for the real enforcement examples, naming actual Indian brands fined for 'natural'/'chemical-free' claims that didn't hold up, which makes the risk concrete rather than theoretical.

ASCI Moves To Curb Greenwashing With New Guidelines

From Outlook Business

  • Cites real ASCI enforcement actions against Indian brands
  • Explains the business-reputation risk beyond just the fine
  • Frames greenwashing crackdown as a rising trend, not a one-off
Open outlookbusiness.com →
📄 Article
India Free Intermediate

A law-firm-written summary that lays out both ASCI's self-regulatory Green Guidelines and the parallel CCPA draft rules, useful because green claims in India are being policed on two fronts at once, not just one.

Greenwashing No More, ASCI Guidelines for Environmental Claims & CCPA Draft Guidelines

From Lexology

  • Covers both ASCI Green Guidelines and CCPA draft greenwashing rules
  • Explains what counts as an 'environmental claim' broadly, not just obvious ones
  • Notes overlap and gaps between advertising self-regulation and consumer-protection law
Open lexology.com →

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