Only 12% of Major U.S. Brands Hold Verified Sustainability Certifications—Most Rely on Unregulated Claims

24/7 Wall St. Insights Companies can claim they are sustainable even when they are not, it can be hard to find the truth. Sustainability covers many different areas, and not all are treated equally when a company claims to be sustainable. 24/7 is your home for all things related to investing, consumer behavior, and economics. Get started by downloading our free report on the two stocks we recommend every investor hold forever. Greenwashing is a practice that some corporations participate in. It is a marketing tactic to make a company seem eco-friendly and sustainable, but they aren’t. Instead of using the money to actually make earth-friendly changes, they use it to pretend to. So how can you know if a brand is actually sustainable or not? A good indicator is a company’s certifications displayed on its website. Look for Certified B Corp, Global Recycle Standard (GRS, run by Textile Exchange), OEKO-TEX, Made Safe, Environmental Working Group (EWG, applies mainly to specific personal-care products), Fair Trade, and Forest Stewardship Council (certifies forest products like paper/wood). Other indicators are the company having a recycling program or stating a zero-waste operations/packaging goal. Be aware that Carbon offset/carbon neutral claims vary widely in quality. Look for Science Based Targets (SBTi) and third-party offset/project disclosure rather than treating “offset” as a green light. Buying in person can be more eco-friendly than ordering online, as it cuts out the emissions spent delivering products to your door and on plastic packaging. However, true offset depends on several factors, like distance, transport mode, and packaging. For example, local trips on foot/bike or bundled errands can beat home delivery, but consolidated shipping can beat solo car drives. Buying food in bulk, shopping second hand, shopping at low-waste stores, buying at farmer’s markets or directly from farmers, and making good use of what you already own are all great ways to shop sustainably. Unfortunately, buying sustainably is sometimes more expensive than purchasing through large corporations. But it brings peace of mind, as this type of shopping is more likely to support fair labor and lower-impact production. This post was updated on September 19, 2025 to clarify certifications/carbon offset claims, health claims regarding synthetic underwear, Tony’s Chocolonely’s stated mission, and that the most eco-friendly ways to shop rely on an assortment of factors. Why Are We Talking About This? Sustainable materials. Sick of being lied to when it comes to the sustainability of the products you buy? Many of the claims companies make about themselves aren’t regulated by the government, so they can pretty much say anything they want sometimes. We want to help you make better decisions with your money. #1 Tentree Sustainable clothes. Good For: Women, Men, Kids, Accessories Ethics: Carbon Sequestration, Veritree Certified, Certified B Corp, Restorative Coalition Featured Product: Retro Juniper Hoodie Price: $78 Tentree practices carbon sequestration to compensate for emissions made elsewhere by planting trees. Tentree plants primarily mangrove trees, acacia trees, and avocado trees. To ensure that Tentree is actually planting trees, it sets up photo stations at all planting sites. Workers walk the perimeter of all planting sites carrying a camera and a GPS unit to share progress with all partners and sponsors. It uses ethical factories in China, Turkey, India, and Vietnam. You can find information about all of its factories on its website. Tentree is a certified B Corp and Science Based Targets Certified. Want to see how your purchases are impacting the planet? You can do that on Tentree’s website as well. The Retro Juniper Hoodie is a women’s Tree Graphic Pullover Hoodie. It comes in two colorways: Midnight Blue and Heather Mineral. It is made from organic cotton, recycled plastic bottles, cork drawcord tabs, and a cork hem label. This hoodie is eligible for Tentree’s take-back program, where you can send it back when you are done with it to contribute to a circular economy. #2 Subset Photo of clothing. Good For: Underwear, Essential Innerwear Ethics: 100% Organic Cotton, GOTS, Fair Trade, Oeko-Tex Featured Product: Organic Cotton Men’s Boxer Brief Price: $30 Subset is on a mission to make Organic clothing your default. The layers that have direct contact with your skin (i.e., underwear, bras, lingerie) should be non-toxic, organic, and sustainable. This is especially true for vaginal health. Underwear that uses synthetic fabrics may contain harmful chemicals that leech into absorbent skin and can be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria that can cause yeast infections, vaginal infections, and bladder infections. Natural, breathable fabrics can help reduce moisture accumulation. You won’t find harmful synthetic fibers like polyester, acrylic, Lycra, or nylon that are heat-trapping and prevent airflow. OB/GYNS recommends using natural materials such as hemp, wool, linen, or cotton. These materials prevent moisture trapping and are breathable. Subset sources its cotton from an organic cotton farm in India, ginning and spinning in Tamil Nadu, then products are packaged and shipped from New York. The company claims carbon-neutral operations with verified offsets. It takes it one step further with its partnership with SuperCircle, which downcycles old undergarments and turns them into things like furniture batting and carpet pads. The Organic Cotton Men’s Boxer Brief features a mid-rise waist, a 4” inseam, and a slim fit. It comes in sizes S–2XL and in four colors: Meridian, Carbon, Marine, and Garnet. Some other features are flatlock seaming and a functional front fly. Along with every other product, it is eligible for the Intimates Recycling Program! Natural fibers aren’t just important for women’s undergarments, it’s good for men’s health as well. Synthetic fibers can cause bacterial growth, fungal infections, and rashes. #3 Manymoons Kids’ clothing. Good For: Kid’s Clothes Ethics: Circular Economy, Featured Product: Surprise Box Price: 3 pieces for $49 or 5 for $79 Manymoons is a wonderful place to get sustainable baby, children, and women’s clothing with four different ways to shop: rent, rescue, resale, and 85% off. Since kids grow at alarming rates, especially infants who need bigger size clothes almost every month, renting them is a smart idea. From prices like $4.99/month on baby and kid’s pieces, this is a sustainable solution that can fit your budget, keep clutter at bay, and satisfaction in knowing that the clothes your child wears won’t end up in a landfill. You can pick from a variety of different sustainable brands or look at its curated collections to make shopping easier. Manymoons also sells beauty products. Unfortunately, the FDA is still in the process of researching, testing, and banning certain toxic chemicals. Shopping for beauty products on Manymoon will help you know what products are safe and better for your skin. The Children’s Surprise Box lets you pick the number of items, size, and gender. That’s all the decisions you have to make! Parenting children can cause some (most) grownups to experience a phenomenon called decision fatigue. Decision fatigue is the sensation of mental exhaustion that comes from the large number of decisions a person has to make daily. Luckily for you, Manymoons curates new boxes each season with seasonally appropriate pieces for your kiddos. All items in the boxes are high-quality rescued items that are all new with tags. #4 Immaculate Vegan Sustainable clothing. Good For: Jewelry, Accessories, Shoes, Clothing, Sneakers, Ethics: Sustainable, 100% Vegan, Women Owned Featured Product: The WEEK/END Cactus Leather Vegan Studded Crossbody Bag Price: $455 Since 2019, Immaculate Vegan has been providing the “Best Ethical Fashion,” in the world. With its highly curated collection of fashion brands, it is on a mission to dress you immaculately from head to toe. It is strongly against greenwashing, and it has vetted every one of its 4,000 products across over 100 brands. Ethical labor is also this UK-based company’s concern. It only works with brands that pay workers a living wage, supply a safe working environment, and treat employees fairly. The WEEK/END Cactus Leather Vegan Studded Crossbody Bag is from Frida Rome. This bag was featured on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den. It features luxury eco-suede lining and evokes a spirit of rebellion and punk. The Vegan Cactus Leather is sourced from the Mexican company Desserto which uses leather made from nopal cacti. The Nopal Cactus needs hardly any water to grow and grow locally. It has recycled polyester and cotton backing and is extremely durable. #5 Hive Sustainable food. Good For: Groceries Ethics: Woman Owned, Certified B Corp Featured Product: Tony’s Chocolonely Dark Milk Pretzel Toffee Chocolate Price: $4.70 Hive saves you the stress of scouring the aisles and researching each brand and product to make sure that there aren’t any hidden toxins or harmful chemicals. Hive is an online marketplace that holds each product to five standards: Ingredient Integrity, Responsible Production, Clean Packaging, Leading Change, and rave-worthy. You don’t have to sacrifice taste, or quality, or functionality for sustainability. You can actually have it all! To make it even easier, you can shop according to dietary needs, popularity, and Hive exclusives. You can browse through its pantry, snacks, beverages, wellness, personal care, household, and even pet. Tony’s Chocolonely is on a mission to “100% slave-free chocolate.” It seeks to redesign the chocolate industry and subtract the exploitation and pain. It treats West African farmers and cocoa farm employees fairly and equitably. Its five business practice pillars are traceable beans, higher prices, strong farmers, long-term investment, and better quality. When you choose one of Tony’s Chocolonely’s amazing flavors like dark milk chocolate + pretzel, milk chocolate caramel + sea salt, white chocolate raspberry, or Milk Honey Almond Nougat, you are choosing a treat that is better for the planet and better for people. #6 Azure Standard Sustainable food. Good For: Produce Ethics: Non-GMO, Certified Organic Featured Product: Cherries Rainier Pitted, Frozen, Organic (5 lbs) Price: $36.75 Azure Standard wants to bring health and wellness to every community that doesn’t necessarily have access to it. From over 2,600 pick-up locations around the United States, it uses full-size refrigerated trucks to deliver products, especially cold and frozen. With slashed shipping costs, you benefit from affordable healthy food delivered to your neighborhood. For even more savings, it cuts out the middleman in many products by growing and producing resources on its own. It has an organic 4,000-acre farm and it grows grains, fruit, produce, specialty seeds, and cattle. It mills its own grains and conducts its own packaging. An example of Azure Standard’s husbandry is its frozen rainier cherries. These delectable cherries are picked at the height of ripeness and flavor and frozen immediately. Rainier cherries are full of antioxidants and are sweeter than red cherries. These frozen cherries can be enjoyed as is, defrosted in fruit salads, incorporated into pies and jelly, or blended into your morning smoothie. #7 Made Trade A photo of dishes. Good For: Home Goods Ethics: Woman Owned, BIPOC Owned, Sustainable, Vegan, Fair Trade, Recycled Materials, Upcycled Materials, Hand Crafted Featured Product: Minimal Stoneware Dinner Set Price: $200 Have you ever found yourself wanting holiday cheer, but not wanting all the holiday waste? Holiday decorations don’t have to be wasteful. Thanks to Made Trade, you can have peace of mind knowing that your purchases have carbon-neutral international shipping and over 150 sustainable and vetted brands to choose from. All brands from Made Trade practice ethical production, fair wages, safe working conditions, etc. They are strongly against greenwashing and independently verify each product. Convivial’s Minimal Stoneware Dinnerware Set is made with sandy stoneware with an ivory glaze. It consists of one bowl, one mug, one dinner plate, and one salad plate. The sets are timeless, and handmade in Kansas City, MO. These sets can be enjoyed every day or for special occasions. It is third-party tested for lead and cadmium, and is even dishwasher safe. #8 Silver Falls Sustainability Co. A nice china cabinet. Good For: Hair, Bath, Body, Kitchen, Laundry, Outdoor, Pets Ethics: Zero Waste, Plastic Free, Solar Powered, Carbon Negative, Recycled Materials Featured Products: Unpaste Tooth Tabs Price: $8.99 Silver Falls Sustainability Co. is a small family business with the mission of “sustainability in every aspect.” Made in Oregon, Silver Falls wants to provide you with body care products that won’t hurt you, and won’t hurt our planet. Every product is made in small batches, using local and organic ingredients whenever possible. Since 2018, it has kept over 200,000 plastic bottles out of the ocean and has planted over 55,000 trees. With products such as shampoo bars, magnesium deodorant that comes in cardboard packaging, dog shampoo, insect repellent, eye cream, vitamin C morning facial cream, and even an option to spend $1.00 to plant a tree, you can find easy switches to enrich your life. Unpaste Tooth Tabs are truly revolutionary. Instead of buying a plastic tube filled with paste, you can buy plastic-free packaging filled with 120 tablets instead. Simply chew a tablet then brush your teeth like you normally would. They are compliant with applicable regulations and made in Germany. It comes in fully biodegradable packaging. #9 Our Commonplace Sustainable clothing. Good For: Sustainable Marketplace, Clothing, Shoes, Accessories, Personal Care Ethics: BIPOC Owned, Cruelty-Free, Toxic Free, Woman Owned, Made To Order Featured Products: Turkish Coffee 3-in-1 Mask Price: $68 Join Our Commonplace’s mission to replace online marketplaces that exploit people and the earth. Shop from hundreds of sustainable brands as you find curated, made-to-order products that will help you feel luxurious and better about consumerism. Our Commonplace is reimagining the fashion industry to remove the pollution. It is all about rethinking the materials used in products, the processes of production, and the packaging used to provide customers with products. To help you find products that fit your ethics, Our Commonplace has done the hard part for you and has vetted all the brands on its website. Testament’s Turkish Coffee 3-in-1 Mask is one of Our Commonplace’s most popular products. It is an oil-based face polishing mask and is a scrub, mask, and moisturizer all in one. It also has ceramides and niacinamides. All three functions result in a resurfacing, tightening, and hydrating effect. It is made from ground Arabica coffee seeds, avocado oil, cacao, and a botanical blend. #10 etee Sustainable soap. Good For: Hair Care, Bath & Body, Dental, Dishwashing, Food Storage Ethics: Plastic Free, 100% Biodegradable, Cruelty Free Featured Product: Beeswax Food Wraps Price: $18 This Canadian-based company believes in creating simple switches to make your household plastic-free. Plastic is toxic to make, can add toxins to our food, and takes centuries to breakdown in many conditions. From beeswax food wraps, toilet bowl cleaner powder, lotion bars, and wooden toothbrushes, etee makes products that are easy to incorporate into your daily routine and simply replace products you already use. Etee’s Beeswax Food Wraps are its most popular products. It comes in three different sizes and outperforms traditional plastic wrap. Each wrap lasts a year or longer, keeps food fresh, and can fit any container or fruit. It is reusable, plastic-free, and biodegradable. It is made with an organic cotton muslin base coated in beeswax and a blend of natural oils and resins. They keep a tight seal around food containers and also keep cut produce fresh. You can purchase them in a Starter pack, Smart Pack, or Family Pack. You can even get it on a subscription! #11 Simple Switch Online shopping. Good For: Amazon Alternative Ethics: Woman Owned, Sustainable, Hand Crafted Featured Product: Recycled Rice Bag Travel Backpack by Rice Love Price: $65 One thing about sustainability is that it isn’t always on demand like our consumerist society has become accustomed to. For many consumers, convenience is worth any price- including to the detriment of humanity and our planet. At Simple Switch, you can still have the convenience of subscription deliveries without the guilt of planetary destruction. You can rest assured that your purchases make a positive environmental and social impact at Simple Switch. At Simple Switch, you can find a sustainable version of the products you use every day including oat milk, coffee, biodegradable coffee cups, wallets, bags, storage baskets, earrings, umbrellas, bowl covers, wine carriers, bulk wooden disposable cutlery, rice drinking straws, ornaments, cards, Christmas decorations, stackable tumblers, and even Turkish beach towels. Anything you might be looking for at other big corporate marketplaces, it’s worth looking here first. The Recycled Rice Bag Travel Backpack by Rice Love comes in seven different color schemes, is lightweight, has a volume of 18 Liters, and features adjustable straps. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind and is made from recycled burlap and Jute authentic Indian rice bags. Because it is made from plant-based fibers, each backpack is biodegradable. Recycling the rice bags into backpacks keeps thousands of discarded rice bags out of landfills. Each bag purchased provides 1 kilo of rice to an Indian family in need. #12 GOODEE Sustainable furniture. Good For: Furniture Ethics: Certified B-Corp, Climate Neutral Certified, 1% For the Planet Featured Product: Charlie Chair By ecoBirdy Price: $225 GOODEE is an online marketplace for sustainable furniture vendors. Being a Certified B Corp means that it is one of thousands of B Corps globally that are leaders in using business as a force for beneficial change. GOODEE also uses carbon offsets as well as eco-friendly production practices to reduce its carbon footprint. GOODEE curates a collection of products that are in line with its values: good design, good people, and good purpose. It takes sustainability to the next level with its GOODEE Trade Program, where designers will help you source pieces for your office space, townhouse, commercial spaces, and residential areas from over 65 global brands. Each piece is transparently sourced, durable, and ethically made. The Charlie Chair is a toddler chair made from 100% ecothylene from Italy. Ecothylene is ecoBirdy’s patented material that is made from upcycled plastic toys. It is versatile, fashion-forward, able to be used inside and outdoors, and sturdy and ergonomic. It’s easy to clean and sits ages 18 months to seven years old. It comes in five different colors and can be paired with the Luisa table ($375) which is made from the same material. The post Only 12% of Major U.S. Brands Hold Verified Sustainability Certifications—Most Rely on Unregulated Claims appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..