Greenwashing: when should you change your trademark or slogan?

For businesses that already own a trademark, the assessment should therefore begin with the packaging, sales pages and advertisements actually in use. These materials help determine whether the problem arises from an environmental promise added through marketing communications or from the meaning of the trademark itself.

When do trademarks and slogans become environmental claims?

A trademark or slogan constitutes an environmental claim, or green claim, when, in the context in which it is used, it communicates or suggests an environmental benefit to consumers. To identify such a claim, the name, images, colours and wording accompanying the product must be considered together.

For example, green packaging may simply identify a mint-flavoured product. The same packaging, accompanied by leaves, images of the planet and a slogan about protecting the environment, may suggest that the product has an environmental benefit. What matters is the overall message perceived by consumers. This approach is illustrated in Question 2 of the European Commission services’ Q&A published in September 2026, which provides non-binding interpretative guidance.

The environmental promise may already be contained in the name itself. Terms such as “eco” or “natural”, when incorporated into a trademark, may suggest an environmental benefit even without an accompanying slogan. Section B, Answer 1 of the MIMIT FAQs confirms that these references must be assessed in the commercial context in which consumers encounter them.

It is then necessary to distinguish implicit environmental references from generic environmental claims. A leaf or landscape may suggest an environmental benefit. The definition of a generic claim, however, concerns written or spoken statements, including those made in videos, that lack a clear and prominent specification on the same medium and are not included in a sustainability label. This is provided for by Article 18(1)(n-quinquies) of the Italian Consumer Code.

A generic slogan such as “environmentally friendly” requires recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim, under Article 23(1)(d-bis). Visual references must also be assessed: an image may suggest environmental qualities that do not exist and make the overall presentation of the product misleading.

An environmental slogan may also be too generic to qualify for exclusive trademark protection. In the “Sustainability through Quality” case, the General Court of the European Union upheld the refusal to register the sign because the public would perceive the phrase as a promotional statement rather than an indication of the commercial origin of the goods and services. The decision concerned the slogan’s distinctive character; the accuracy of its environmental promise requires a separate assessment.

Context also matters for words referring to other characteristics. For example, “vegan” may describe a product’s composition. When combined with the slogan “better for the planet”, however, it adds an environmental promise that must be verified. This example is addressed in Question 15 of the European Q&A.

When is it enough to correct a slogan, and when must the trademark be changed?

Changing the trademark is not always necessary. It depends on where the environmental promise appears and how consumers perceive it.

If the misleading message is contained in a slogan accompanying the trademark, correcting or removing the slogan may be sufficient. For example, if the environmental benefit concerns only the packaging, this must be clearly stated without suggesting that it applies to the entire product.

The situation becomes more complex when the promise is contained in the product name itself. In some cases, the name can be retained if accompanied by a clear and prominent clarification. The European Commission confirms this in Question 3 of its Q&A. The clarification must explain precisely which environmental characteristic is being claimed and must be supported by evidence.

However, hiding the explanation on a secondary page of a website is not sufficient. The clarification must appear wherever the advertising message is used: on the packaging, in the advertisement or on the sales page. A QR code may provide additional information, but it cannot replace essential information, as clarified in Question 4 of the Q&A.

Some promises cannot be remedied by simply adding a clarification. This is the case, for example, where a product is presented as “climate-neutral” on the basis of carbon offsetting. Article 23(1)(d-quater) of the Italian Consumer Code expressly prohibits such claims. If the promise is incorporated into the trademark, it may become necessary to modify the sign or stop using it for those products.

The same applies to sustainability badges: a company cannot simply create a symbol that appears to represent independent certification. Article 23(1)(b-bis) requires sustainability labels to be based on a certification scheme that complies with the law or to be established by a public authority. If these requirements are not met, the badge must be removed.

Correcting a slogan also means deciding what should be protected. As explained in our article “How to Protect a Commercial Slogan”, a phrase may become one of the signs through which the public recognises a business. If the new version is to be protected as a trademark, its distinctive character, possible conflicts with earlier rights and the need for a new application must be assessed. The same checks apply to a modified name or logo.

Article 24(2) of the Italian Industrial Property Code allows a registered trademark to be used in a modified form without risking revocation for non-use, provided that its distinctive character remains unchanged. If the modification is substantial, however, a new application is necessary to protect the new sign.

These assessments should be carried out before reprinting packaging, signs and advertising materials, to avoid solving a greenwashing problem only to create another issue concerning trademark protection.

How should green trademarks and slogans be managed before and after launch?

To manage green claims effectively, businesses should establish who approves the messages, who retains the supporting evidence and who reports changes to the product. Those responsible for the product, marketing and trademark protection should work from the same materials.

A business can organise this process in three steps:

1. Keep approved materials together with supporting evidence. A shared folder can contain the name, logo, slogan and their various applications, together with the documents used to assess them. It is useful to record the date of the assessment, who carried it out and which products it covers.
2. Provide instructions to those using the trademark. Agencies, distributors and licensees should receive the approved versions and understand which changes require a new assessment. Agreements may specify procedures and deadlines for updating catalogues, marketplace listings and other advertising materials.
3. Identify events that require a new assessment. A change of supplier, a different product composition or the expiry of a certification may affect the environmental promise. It is useful to establish who must report these changes and who is responsible for reviewing the affected messages.

For example, if the percentage of recycled material in a product’s packaging changes, the purchasing department should inform the marketing team. The slogan used by retailers should also be reassessed for the products affected by the change.