Green claims, and the Green Guides
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Almost every small cleaning brand is positioned as the greener alternative, and that vocabulary is regulated advertising.
The vocabulary this category runs on
Natural. Eco-friendly. Non-toxic. Biodegradable. Plant-based. Chemical-free. Safe.
Every one of those is an environmental or safety claim, and the FTC's Green Guides cover exactly this territory.
What the Green Guides say
The governing principle is that a claim must be substantiated and must not convey more than can be substantiated.
Unqualified general environmental benefit claims are treated most skeptically, because a phrase like "eco-friendly" implies benefits across the board that almost nothing can support.
The guides' answer is qualification: a specific, substantiated claim about a specific attribute, rather than a general one.
"Biodegradable" in particular carries an expectation about complete breakdown within a reasonably short period in the disposal environment, which is a testable claim rather than a descriptive one.
The claims to avoid
"Chemical-free", which is not true of anything and reads as unserious to anyone technical.
"Non-toxic" unqualified, which is a safety claim about all routes of exposure and is hard to support for a product that carries FHSA cautionary labeling.
"Safe", likewise, and especially "safe around children and pets", which is a strong claim about a product the label may also say to keep out of reach of children.
"Natural" alone, which has no accepted definition here.
And note the collision: a product with a DANGER signal word and a "non-toxic" front panel is making two statements a regulator can read side by side.
The claims worth making
Specific and factual. A named certification such as EPA Safer Choice, which is a real program with criteria behind it.
A named attribute: "plant-derived surfactants", "no added dye", "concentrated, so you ship less water".
The full ingredient list, published, which is the strongest thing a small maker can do and is increasingly required anyway.
And the concentrate argument, which is quantifiable, honest, and better than any adjective.