A shopping bag carries more than a logo. Statements about recycled material, environmental impact and disposal become part of the retailer’s message to customers. That makes the next print run a useful moment to review the words as carefully as the colours.
The European Commission confirms that the measures under Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition entered into application on 27 September 2026. The changes strengthen protection against misleading environmental claims. See the Commission’s current overview.
The Council’s explanation identifies problematic practices including unsupported generic environmental claims and claims about an entire product when only one aspect supports them. This matters when a retailer uses packaging improvements to describe the goods inside. Read the Council’s explanation of the adopted rules.
For a bag project, begin with the fact that can actually be supported. If a recycled-content statement is proposed, identify what the percentage covers and how it is calculated. Do not allow a statement about the bag’s material to imply that every item sold by the store has the same characteristic.
A specific statement still needs substantiation and review for the destination market. Adding a number does not automatically make a claim acceptable.
Read the headline, small print, symbols and graphics together. A careful sentence can be undermined by an oversized badge or a broader promise elsewhere on the artwork. A QR code may provide additional information, but it should not carry an essential qualification that the printed claim leaves unclear.
The same review should cover product pages and store materials using the bag’s environmental message. A supplier’s technical wording can lose its meaning when shortened into a campaign slogan.
For purchasing teams, the practical task is to connect the approved wording with the material being ordered. Record the artwork version and the specification it describes. If the material changes, pause and check whether the words still apply before approving a repeat print run.
For a multi-market retailer, consider separate artwork versions when language, disposal guidance or claim requirements differ. Keep those versions easy for stores and distributors to distinguish.
Precise wording can also improve the conversation with a packaging supplier: the requested material and the statement intended for the customer are visible in the same brief.
Preparing your next custom shopping bag? Share your artwork, target markets and proposed material claims with INTERPAC so the packaging specification and print brief can be discussed together.
