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Greenwashing checker for your website

EmpCo check · green claims checker

EU Green Claims Scanner & Greenwashing Checker — paste any product or shop URL and our AI checks the key pages against the 82 banned green claims under the EU EmpCo / ECGT Directive (2024/825) in 60 seconds. No signup required.

Need the whole site? Site Sweep checks the text of up to 1,000 pages in one go

Free scan — no account needed. Score + penalty estimate + 1 flag revealed.

Why use this scanner?

Three reasons every EU e-commerce site should run a scan under the rules in force since September 27, 2026.

The EU is cracking down — hard

The Empowering Consumers Directive (Directive 2024/825) took full effect on September 27, 2026, and the Green Claims Directive follows close behind. Penalties for misleading environmental claims can reach up to 4% of annual EU turnover — and that's before national regulators add their own fines on top. We're already seeing the pattern: in 2024 the German BGH ruled against a confectioner in I ZR 98/23 for an unexplained "klimaneutral" claim, France's DGCCRF has handed down six-figure fines for vague "eco-friendly" labelling on fashion sites, and the Dutch ACM settled with multiple airlines over CO2 compensation claims. The scanner tracks 82 banned and high-risk terms drawn directly from these rulings so you catch the same language regulators are already punishing.

What our scanner catches

Most greenwashing isn't a dramatic lie — it's vague, vibes-based marketing that the Directive now treats as an illegal commercial practice. The scanner flags all of it: generic terms like "eco-friendly", "natural", "green", "clean", "environmentally friendly", and "conscious"; unsubstantiated carbon and lifecycle claims; missing or fabricated certifications; and country-specific traps like Germany's requirement that every "klimaneutral" claim explain its compensation method inside the same advertisement, or France's ban on using the raw words "net zero" or "carbon neutral" without a government-approved decarbonisation plan. Every flag is tagged with the exact legal basis so your legal team can verify it in minutes.

From scan to fix in minutes

Paste a URL and the scanner starts crawling your product pages immediately. It extracts every visible claim — titles, descriptions, bullet points, badge alt text, metadata — and runs each one through a compliance AI model trained on the full EU Directive text plus the five national transposition laws. Within about 60 seconds you get a dashboard showing every flagged claim, a severity rating, a human-readable reason, a suggested compliant rewrite, and a penalty-exposure estimate for each covered country. Paid accounts can export the whole report as a PDF, share it with their legal team, and track fixes over time in a persistent scan history.

How it works

Three steps. About one minute. No signup.

Paste your shop URL

Drop in a product page or the homepage of your store. The scanner accepts Shopify, WooCommerce, Prestashop, Magento, and custom sites.

AI scans every product page

Our crawler reads each page, extracts every claim, and runs it through the EU Directive ruleset plus country-specific transposition laws.

Get flags, rewrites, and exposure

You receive a full report with severity levels, legal citations, compliant rewrites, and an estimated penalty range per country.

On product pages, every scan also checks product safety (GPSR): manufacturer, EU contact, product ID, warnings.Free GPSR check

Examples of what we catch

Real claims we've flagged on real e-commerce sites. Every flag links back to the legal basis.

Claim on siteMedium risk

“100% natural”

Vague claim without scope. The term 'natural' is on the EU Directive's restricted-use list because it implies environmental benefit without defining what portion of the product, lifecycle, or supply chain is covered.

Claim on siteHigh risk

“Carbon neutral”

German BGH I ZR 98/23 requires any 'klimaneutral' or 'carbon neutral' claim to explain its compensation method inside the same advertisement. Without that explanation it is a misleading commercial practice.

Claim on siteMedium risk

“Eco-friendly packaging”

'Eco-friendly' is on the EU banned-terms list under the Empowering Consumers Directive (2024/825). The term is considered a generic environmental claim that cannot be substantiated with measurable evidence.

What the EmpCo check looks at

The check reads your live pages the way a customer sees them and tests every environmental claim against Directive (EU) 2024/825 and the national rules that apply on top of it.

Text claims

Wording such as “climate neutral”, “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” in headlines, product descriptions, banners and footers.

Labels and seals

Sustainability badges and certification logos, and whether they come from a recognised scheme or were designed in-house.

Images on the page

Photos, icons and graphics that suggest an environmental benefit. Most checkers read text only; this one also looks at the images.

National rules

The stricter rules and case law of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland, on top of the EU baseline.

What the free check covers, and what a pack adds

Free check

A first look at a few key pages of your site: a compliance score, an estimate of your penalty exposure and the first flagged claims. No account needed.

Packs and Site Sweep

One-time packs go further: more pages, deeper scans, AI rewrites for every flagged claim and a PDF report to share with your team or your lawyer. Site Sweep checks the text of up to 1,000 pages in one go, grouped by claim.

See the packs and prices

Who uses it

In-house marketing and compliance teams checking their shop before a campaign goes live, agencies reviewing client websites, and legal advisers who want a quick first screening before a detailed review.

EmpCo check: common questions

Does the check replace legal advice?+

No. It is a screening tool that finds claims likely to breach the rules and explains why. For decisions with legal consequences, consult a qualified lawyer.

Which claims are banned since 27 September 2026?+

Among others: generic claims such as “eco-friendly” or “climate neutral” without proof, self-made sustainability labels, and climate claims based on offsetting. The full list has 82 terms, each with a compliant alternative. See all 82 restricted terms

How long does the check take?+

About a minute for the free check. Scans of more pages take a few minutes longer, and signed-in users can get an email when the report is ready.

Are images and seals checked too?+

Yes. Besides the text, the check looks at the images, icons and certification logos on each page, and flags labels that suggest an environmental benefit without a recognised scheme behind them.

Frequently asked questions

Is the website scanner really free?+

Yes — running a basic scan is completely free, with no signup and no credit card required. You can paste any shop or product URL and get instant greenwashing flags in your browser. If you want unlimited scans, persistent scan history across your team, and one-click AI rewrites that make your copy compliant, you can create a free EcoClaim account — but the core scanner itself stays free forever.

How does the scanner detect greenwashing?+

The scanner combines three layers. First, it matches your product copy against a curated list of 82 banned and high-risk terms drawn directly from the EU Green Claims Directive, the Empowering Consumers Directive (EmpCo / Directive 2024/825), and national transposition laws. Second, it applies country-specific rules for Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Poland — catching claims like "klimaneutral" that require an in-ad method explanation under BGH I ZR 98/23. Third, it runs every flagged claim through an AI model trained on real enforcement cases so you see exactly why a phrase is risky.

What's the EU Green Claims Directive?+

The Green Claims Directive is the EU's upcoming regulation that bans misleading environmental claims across all 27 member states. Combined with the already-in-force Empowering Consumers Directive (2024/825), it prohibits vague terms like "eco-friendly" or "climate neutral" without independently verified evidence, and requires sellers to substantiate every green claim before publishing. Enforcement began on September 27, 2026. You can read our full plain-English breakdown on the /green-claims-directive page.

Which countries are covered?+

The scanner checks claims against six major EU e-commerce markets: Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Poland. Each country has its own transposition law and enforcement body (Bundeskartellamt, DGCCRF, ACM, AEPD, AGCM, UOKiK) with slightly different definitions of what counts as misleading. We maintain country-specific guides with the current penalty ranges, landmark rulings, and enforcement trends on the /guides page.

Can I get certified that my site is compliant?+

Yes — our Complete tier includes a dated compliance badge you can embed in your website footer or checkout flow. The badge is re-verified every time you re-run a full scan, so it always reflects your current compliance state. This is useful for brands that want to signal good-faith effort to customers, regulators, and retail partners now that the September 2026 rules apply.

Keep learning

Deepen your understanding of EU greenwashing rules.

82 EU Banned Terms

The complete list of greenwashing words and phrases flagged under Directive 2024/825 and national laws.

Full Directive Guide

A plain-English walkthrough of the EU Green Claims Directive, its timeline, scope, and penalty structure.

Country-Specific Guides

Enforcement rules and landmark rulings for Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy.

Free Greenwashing Copy Checker

Paste your product description, ad copy, or packaging text — our AI flags greenwashing risks instantly. No signup, no credit card.

Free Product Label Compliance Checker

Upload a product label, packaging, or ad image — our AI detects greenwashing visuals like fake eco-badges, misleading colours, and unverified certifications.

Want unlimited scans?

Sign up free for unlimited website scans, persistent scan history, one-click AI rewrites, and a compliance dashboard for your team.