Global sustainability sales reached USD886 billion in 2025, yet value creation is becoming increasingly selective.
Core attributes such as Natural, Organic, and Vegan remain widely embedded in products, but are no longer actively communicated as they have become expected baseline signals. This is particularly evident for generic claims like Natural and Environmentally Friendly, which combine high digital shelf presence with only moderate growth and are increasingly challenged under the EU’s Empowering Consumers directive.
As a result, brands are rationalising communication – reducing claim proliferation and shifting towards fewer, more credible signals. Growth is now driven by more specific, outcome-based claims such as Carbon Neutral, Energy Efficiency, Refill, and Upcycled, as well as category-specific frameworks like the A.I.S.E. Charter in home care.
The winning strategy is not adding more claims, but rebalancing portfolios towards transparent, verifiable signals that support compliance, differentiation, and premium positioning.
For a deep dive into into how leading competitors are transforming sustainability from a compliance checkbox into a powerful growth engine, read our report, Competitor Strategies in Sustainability.