Overview

Amazon has updated its product‑detail policy to bar sellers from using vague environmental descriptors such as “eco‑friendly,” “sustainable,” or “green” unless the claim can be backed by concrete, verifiable evidence. The change, effective immediately, is aimed at curbing greenwashing and aligning the marketplace with tightening regulations in the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom. Sellers who rely on broad sustainability language must revise listings or risk automatic removal of the offending content.

Key Points

• Unqualified terms prohibited — Generic phrases like “eco‑friendly” can no longer appear in titles, bullet points, descriptions, or A+ Content without supporting documentation.
• Automatic content stripping — Amazon’s systems will delete non‑compliant claims from product pages as soon as they are detected.
• Policy scope widened — The existing prohibited product claims policy now explicitly lists broad environmental language as a violation.
• Regulatory alignment — The update mirrors the FTC’s upcoming Green Guides revisions, the EU Green Claims Directive, and the UK’s consumer protection rules.
• Escalation path defined — Repeated offenses may lead to listing suppression, ASIN‑level restrictions, or account‑level warnings.
• Qualified claims still allowed — Statements such as “made with 80 % recycled plastic” or “FSC‑certified wood” remain permissible when sellers can provide the required certificates or test results.

How the Policy Works

1. Content Scan and Flagging — Amazon’s automated review engine scans every product detail page for prohibited environmental language. For example, a kitchen sponge listed with the bullet “eco‑friendly cleaning solution” will be flagged because the phrase lacks supporting data.
2. Automatic Removal — Once flagged, the system removes the offending text from the title, bullets, description, backend keywords, and any associated A+ images. In the previous example, the phrase would disappear, leaving only the remaining product details.