Is “Natural” still allowed under EU law?
Not on its own. Under the EmpCo Directive this is a generic environmental claim, prohibited unless you can demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance.
How common is it?
We found this term in a flagged claim on 197 of the 680 websites we have scanned — 29%.
- sites affected
- 197
- times flagged
- 473
- flagged at highest severity
- 84
Why it is a problem
Misleads consumers into assuming environmental benefit. "Natural" does not necessarily mean low-impact; arsenic and crude oil are also natural.
What to write instead
Name the specific ingredient and its origin, e.g. "Contains plant-derived surfactants (>95% natural origin per ISO 16128)."
The legal basis
Directive (EU) 2024/825 — the Empowering Consumers Directive — adds environmental claims to the Annex I blacklist of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. It applies across the EU from 27 September 2026, with no transition period. Penalties reach 4% of annual turnover in the member state concerned.
Check whether your own site uses this term
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Figures come from EcoClaim's own scan corpus, last updated 2026-08-22. It is a self-selected sample — sites run through our public checker, not a random sample of EU commerce.