What Are Recycled Content Claims?

A recycled content claim is any statement, label, symbol, certificate reference or marketing message that suggests a product, component or packaging contains recycled material.

Common examples include:

• “Made with recycled materials”
• “Contains recycled content”
• “30% post-consumer recycled plastic”
• “Packaging made with recycled paper”
• “Bottle made from recycled PET”
• “Product includes recycled components”
• “100% recycled packaging”

A recycled content claim can appear on product packaging, websites, online marketplaces, technical datasheets, catalogs, ESG reports, tender documents, advertising campaigns or customer declarations.

The U.S. FTC Green Guides state that marketers should not misrepresent recycled content and that unqualified recycled content claims are appropriate only when the entire product or package, excluding minor incidental components, is made from recycled material. If only part of the product or package contains recycled material, the claim should be clearly qualified.

Why Recycled Content Claims Compliance Matters

Recycled content claims are under increasing scrutiny because consumers, regulators and business customers are demanding more reliable environmental information. A vague or unsupported claim can be treated as greenwashing, even when the product does contain some recycled material.

The FTC explains that environmental marketing claims should be truthful, substantiated and qualified when necessary to avoid misleading consumers. This means companies should not rely on broad sustainability language without clear proof.

For companies selling into multiple markets, recycled content claims compliance is especially important because the rules may vary by jurisdiction, product type, packaging type and sales channel. A claim that appears acceptable in one context may become risky if reused across different products, regions or packaging versions without review.

Who Needs to Comply with Recycled Content Claims Requirements?

Recycled content claims compliance is relevant for any business that makes, repeats, publishes or relies on environmental claims about products or packaging.

This includes:

• Manufacturers placing products or packaging on the market
• Importers and distributors relying on supplier-provided recycled content data
• Retailers and e-commerce sellers publishing recycled content claims online
• Private-label brands using supplier or contract manufacturer declarations
• Packaging suppliers providing recycled content data to brand owners
• ESG and sustainability teams preparing public reports
• Product compliance and regulatory affairs teams managing market access
• Procurement teams collecting supplier declarations and certificates
• Marketing teams creating product pages, advertisements and packaging claims

This is particularly important in supply chains where one company makes the claim, while another company holds the supporting evidence. The UK Competition and Markets Authority’s 2026 supply-chain guidance explains that environmental claims must be clear, accurate and not misleading, and that the guidance applies across business supply chains.

Latest Recycled Content Claims Compliance Updates

1. EU Greenwashing Rules Apply from September 2026

The EU’s Directive (EU) 2024/825, known as the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, strengthens consumer protection against misleading environmental claims and unfair commercial practices linked to sustainability messaging.

The European Commission states that Member States had until 27 March 2026 to transpose the Directive, and the rules apply from 27 September 2026.

For recycled content claims, this means companies should avoid generic or unclear environmental language. A broad statement such as “eco-friendly recycled product” is riskier than a specific, evidence-backed claim such as:

“The outer carton contains 80% recycled paper fiber by weight.”

Specificity matters. Companies should clearly identify the product, component, packaging layer, material type, recycled content percentage and calculation basis.

2. EU PPWR Makes Recycled Content a Packaging Compliance Issue

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2025/40, introduces sustainability and labeling requirements for packaging across its life cycle. EUR-Lex summarizes that the Regulation covers packaging production, use and waste management, and aims to prevent unnecessary packaging while promoting reuse, refill and recycling.

The UK Department for Business and Trade states that the EU PPWR entered into force on 11 February 2025 and applies from 12 August 2026. It also notes that the PPWR includes recycled content targets for plastic packaging by 2030 and 2040.

For companies placing packaged goods on the EU market, recycled content is no longer only a marketing claim. It is becoming part of packaging compliance, supplier data collection, extended producer responsibility reporting, technical documentation and market access readiness.

3. U.S. FTC Green Guides Remain a Key Reference for Recycled Content Claims

The FTC Green Guides remain an important reference for companies making recycled content claims in the United States. The FTC explains that the Green Guides help marketers make truthful and substantiated environmental claims and explain how consumers are likely to interpret particular claims.

Under 16 CFR § 260.13, recycled content includes recycled raw material as well as used, reconditioned and remanufactured components. The rule also states that recycled content claims may distinguish between pre-consumer and post-consumer materials, but if a marketer makes such a distinction, it should have substantiation for the express or implied percentage claim.

A compliant recycled content claim should therefore answer:

• What part of the product or package contains recycled content?
• What material is recycled?
• What percentage is recycled?
• Is the content post-consumer, pre-consumer or mixed?
• Is the percentage calculated by weight?
• What evidence supports the claim?

4. UK Guidance Increases Supply Chain Responsibility

In January 2026, the UK Competition and Markets Authority published guidance on making green claims across the supply chain. The guidance should be read alongside the CMA’s Green Claims Code and is intended to help businesses understand how to stay on the right side of the law when making environmental claims about products and services.

This matters for recycled content claims because businesses often rely on supplier declarations, certificates, batch records or converter data. A retailer may repeat a supplier’s recycled content claim, but that does not remove the need to take reasonable steps to ensure the claim is accurate and properly supported.

In practice, companies should not treat supplier statements as the final compliance answer. They should check the scope, material, percentage, product reference, validity period and supporting evidence behind the declaration.

5. Canada Continues to Strengthen Environmental Claims Scrutiny

Canada’s Competition Bureau issued final guidelines in June 2025 to help businesses comply with the Competition Act when making environmental claims. The Bureau stated that the guidelines relate to greenwashing provisions added to the Competition Act through amendments that became law on 20 June 2024.

Canada’s framework was updated again in 2026. The Competition Bureau states that the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, No. 1 received Royal Assent on 26 March 2026 and removed the requirement for environmental claims to be supported by an internationally recognized methodology. The Bureau also stated that its guidance would be updated to reflect that change.

For businesses selling in Canada, the practical message remains the same: environmental claims should be truthful, not misleading and supported by adequate substantiation.

6. Enforcement Risk Is Increasing

Recent enforcement shows that “recycled” claims can be challenged when they are too broad or not clearly supported.

In June 2026, the UK Advertising Standards Authority banned advertisements from Adidas, Uniqlo and Calvin Klein over recycled-content claims. The issue was that the claims could mislead consumers into thinking the products were wholly made from recycled materials, while the evidence and wording did not sufficiently support that interpretation.

This type of enforcement is important because it shows that regulators and advertising authorities are not only looking at whether recycled material exists. They are also looking at how an ordinary consumer is likely to understand the claim.

A product may contain recycled content, but the claim can still be misleading if it implies more recycled content than the company can prove.

What Evidence Is Needed for Recycled Content Claims?

A recycled content claim should be supported before it is published. Evidence should be specific to the claim, product, component, packaging layer and market.

A strong substantiation file may include:

• Product bill of materials
• Packaging bill of materials
• Component weight data
• Supplier recycled content declarations
• Post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled content breakdown
• Certificates of analysis
• Chain-of-custody records
• Recycler or converter documentation
• Purchase orders and invoices
• Batch, lot or production records
• Calculation worksheets
• Approved claim wording
• Packaging artwork version
• Legal or compliance approval record
• Market-specific claim review
• Expiry dates for supplier documents
• Change history for suppliers, materials and formulations

The goal is to create a complete audit trail showing that the claim is accurate, specific, calculated correctly and approved before publication.

How to Make Recycled Content Claims Correctly

Use Specific Claim Wording

Specific claims are easier to understand, prove and defend.

Better examples include:

• “The bottle body contains 30% post-consumer recycled PET by weight.”
• “The outer carton contains 80% recycled paper fiber by weight.”
• “The plastic tray contains 40% recycled content by weight.”
• “The product housing contains 25% pre-consumer recycled aluminum by weight.”

Riskier examples include:

• “Eco recycled product”
• “Green packaging”
• “Made sustainably”
• “Made with recycled materials”
• “100% recycled” when only one component contains recycled material

The more general the claim, the more likely it is that consumers may interpret it broadly.

Define the Scope of the Claim

Every recycled content claim should clearly define whether it applies to:

• The full product
• A specific component
• Product packaging
• Primary packaging
• Secondary packaging
• Tertiary packaging
• A product family
• A single SKU
• A specific market or region

For example, if only the outer carton contains recycled paper, the claim should not imply that the product itself contains recycled content.

Separate Recycled Content from Recyclability

“Recycled content” and “recyclable” are not the same claim.

Recycled content means the product or packaging contains material that was recovered or diverted from the waste stream.

Recyclable means the product or packaging can be collected, sorted, processed and returned to use through available recycling systems.

A product can contain recycled content but not be widely recyclable. A product can also be recyclable but contain no recycled content. Companies should avoid mixing these claims unless both are separately substantiated.

Distinguish Post-Consumer and Pre-Consumer Content

If a company claims post-consumer recycled content, it should be able to prove that the material was recovered after consumer use.

If a company claims pre-consumer recycled content, it should be able to prove that the material was diverted from the waste stream during manufacturing and would otherwise have become waste.

The FTC Green Guides specifically state that when marketers distinguish between pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled materials, they should have substantiation for the percentage claim.

Use a Consistent Calculation Method

A practical recycled content calculation usually follows this structure:

Recycled content percentage = recycled material weight ÷ total item weight × 100

The calculation must match the claim scope.

If the claim says:

“Bottle body contains 30% recycled PET by weight,”

then the calculation should be based on the bottle body, not the full finished product or the entire packaging system.

If the claim says:

“Packaging contains 50% recycled content by weight,”

then the calculation should include the packaging components covered by that claim.

Companies should also document:

• Units of measurement
• Weight data source
• Rounding rules
• Component exclusions
• Material changes
• Supplier changes
• Batch variations
• Version history

Recycled Content Claims Compliance Checklist

Before publishing a recycled content claim, companies should confirm the following:

This checklist helps turn a marketing statement into a controlled compliance process.

Common Recycled Content Claims Mistakes

Mistake 1: Using “Recycled” as an Absolute Claim

A claim such as “recycled product” may imply that the entire product is made from recycled material. If only one component contains recycled content, the claim should be qualified.

Mistake 2: Claiming a Percentage Without a Calculation File

A “30% recycled content” claim should be supported by a calculation showing the recycled material weight, total item weight, data source and formula used.

Mistake 3: Reusing Claims Across Similar Products

A claim approved for one SKU should not automatically be used for another SKU, color, supplier, packaging version or region.

Mistake 4: Relying Only on Supplier Declarations

Supplier declarations are important, but they should be reviewed. A useful declaration should identify the product, material, recycled content percentage, recycled content type, date, validity period and supporting evidence.

Mistake 5: Confusing Recycled Content with Recyclability

A claim that a package contains recycled content does not prove that it is recyclable. These are different environmental claims and should be supported separately.

Mistake 6: Publishing Claims Before Compliance Approval

Marketing teams may publish recycled content claims before evidence is complete. This creates risk if the claim later appears on packaging, e-commerce listings, catalogs or advertisements without substantiation.

How Companies Should Manage Recycled Content Claims Internally

A strong recycled content compliance program should include five core controls.

1. Create a Recycled Content Claims Policy

The policy should define acceptable claim wording, required evidence, calculation methods, approval responsibilities and record retention rules.

2. Build a Claims Register

The register should list every recycled content claim by product, SKU, component, packaging layer, market and sales channel.

4. Review and Approve Claims Before Publication

Compliance, legal, product, packaging, ESG and marketing teams should approve the final wording before it is used publicly.

5. Monitor Changes

Claims should be reviewed when suppliers, materials, packaging designs, product weights, formulas, manufacturing sites or regulations change.

How ComplyMarket Product Compliance Software Helps

Managing recycled content claims manually is difficult when evidence is spread across spreadsheets, supplier emails, shared drives, certificates, packaging files, product databases and regulatory trackers.

ComplyMarket helps companies manage recycled content claims through a structured product and material compliance workflow. ComplyMarket states that its platform centralizes product and material compliance, supports Digital Product Passports and streamlines ESG reporting with less manual work and faster market access.

ComplyMarket’s recycled content claims compliance solution is designed to help companies centralize substantiation, automate recycled content rollups, enforce approvals and generate claim-specific substantiation packs mapped to SKUs and markets.

ComplyMarket Can Help Companies:

Centralize Recycled Content Evidence

Store supplier declarations, certificates, invoices, chain-of-custody records, BOMs, packaging data and calculation files in one controlled platform.

Link Claims to Products, Components and Markets

Connect each recycled content claim to the correct SKU, component, packaging layer, supplier, region and sales channel.

Automate Recycled Content Calculations

Use consistent calculation rules to roll up recycled content data across materials, packaging layers, components and finished goods.

Improve Supplier Collaboration

Collect structured supplier data and reduce reliance on inconsistent emails, manual spreadsheets and missing documentation.

Control Claim Approvals

Set approval workflows so recycled content claims are reviewed before they appear on packaging, websites, customer declarations or ESG reports.

Track Missing or Expiring Documentation

Monitor evidence status and reduce the risk of outdated supplier declarations or unsupported claims remaining in use.

Generate Audit-Ready Substantiation Packs

When a customer, retailer, regulator or internal auditor asks for proof, teams can retrieve the claim wording, calculation, supplier evidence and approval history in a structured file.

FAQ: Recycled Content Claims Compliance

What is a recycled content claim?

A recycled content claim is any statement suggesting that a product, component or packaging contains recycled material. Examples include “made with recycled materials,” “contains 30% recycled content” and “made with post-consumer recycled plastic.”

Can I say “made with recycled materials”?

You can only use this type of claim if it is accurate and not misleading. If only part of the product or packaging contains recycled material, the claim should identify the part, material and percentage.

What evidence is required for recycled content claims?

Companies should keep supplier declarations, certificates, chain-of-custody records, component weights, BOMs, calculation files, purchase records and claim approval history.

What is post-consumer recycled content?

Post-consumer recycled content generally refers to material recovered after consumer use and reprocessed into a new product or packaging material.

What is pre-consumer recycled content?

Pre-consumer recycled content generally refers to manufacturing material diverted from the waste stream before reaching the consumer.

What is the difference between recycled content and recyclable?

Recycled content means the product or packaging contains recycled material. Recyclable means the product or packaging can be collected and processed for recycling. These are separate claims and require separate evidence.

How do you calculate recycled content?

A common method is to divide the weight of recycled material by the total weight of the item covered by the claim, then multiply by 100. The calculation should match the claim scope.

Are recycled content claims regulated?

Yes. Recycled content claims are regulated or scrutinized under environmental marketing, consumer protection, advertising and packaging rules in several jurisdictions, including the U.S., EU, UK and Canada.

Why are recycled content claims risky?

They are risky because consumers may interpret them broadly. A claim can be misleading if it suggests that an entire product is recycled when only one component contains recycled material.

How can software help with recycled content claims compliance?

Software can centralize evidence, automate calculations, manage supplier documentation, control approvals, track changes and generate audit-ready substantiation packs.