EU Ecolabel

Written by Stijn Valkenburg Internal researcherLast reviewed: 19 October 2026

The official ecolabel of the European Union. It goes to products with a lower environmental impact across their whole life cycle, from raw materials to disposal.

What is checked

Limited use of hazardous substances, assessed ingredient by ingredient
Sustainably sourced raw materials and minimal, recyclable packaging
The product must also work well: performance is part of the criteria

What it doesn't say

No guarantee that a product is fragrance-free or hypoallergenic
Says nothing about organic or natural ingredients

Why we trust this label

Only the best 10–20% qualify

The criteria are set so that, when adopted, only the greenest products on the European market can meet them. And they are tightened regularly, so the bar keeps rising.

How EU Ecolabel tests

The criteria per product group are developed by the European Commission with stakeholders and adopted as EU law. A brand applies to an independent national Competent Body (in the Netherlands: SMK), which checks the dossier of declarations, data sheets and test results, preferably from accredited labs, before granting a licence for that product. It is a third-party scheme meeting ISO 14024 (Type I ecolabel); licences can carry annual and inspection fees.

Sources

About the EU Ecolabel (European Commission) green-forum.ec.europa.eu
How to apply for the EU Ecolabel (European Commission) green-forum.ec.europa.eu
EU Ecolabel criteria for cleaning products (European Commission) green-forum.ec.europa.eu
EU Ecolabel – Ecolabel Index ecolabelindex.com
Milieukeur / SMK – Global Ecolabelling Network globalecolabelling.net

How we research labels

We read the label's own standard and criteria, check them against at least one independent source and write down what the label does not cover. Every page names its researcher and the date we last reviewed it.