The three claims that produce most UK and EU rulings
Sellers in the UK and EU rarely get into trouble for selling a bad product. The rulings that cost money come from copy: a "clinically proven" with no study behind it, an "eco-friendly" with no definition behind it, a "cheapest" with no comparison behind it. All three are objectively testable, and that is exactly why regulators test them.
This guide covers the three rules CopyForge's compliance scan checks for UK and EU copy, with the fix for each.
1. Substantiation: "proven" is a legal claim, not decoration
The UK CAP Code — the rulebook the Advertising Standards Authority enforces — says in rule 3.7 that advertisers must hold documentary evidence to prove objective claims before an ad runs. The burden is not on the complainant. It is on you.
Words that trigger the rule every time:
- "Clinically proven"
- "Scientifically proven"
- "Lab tested"
- "Dermatologically tested"
- "Proven to reduce / boost / improve"
The pattern in ASA rulings is identical: the advertiser had a study, but the study did not test what the ad claimed, or tested a different product, or was conducted by the brand itself and never published. Holding a document is not enough — it must show what the copy says.
Instead of: "Clinically proven to reduce dark circles in 14 days" Write: "Formulated with 2% caffeine and 1% vitamin C"
The second sentence is a formulation fact. It cannot be an ASA ruling because it is not a promise about your face — it is a list of what is in the bottle.
The rule in one line: every word that promises an outcome needs a study that tested that exact outcome on that exact product.
2. Green claims: the generic words are closing down
The EU has been tightening environmental claims for years, and the pace just went up. Directive (EU) 2024/825 — the green-transition update to EU consumer law — bans generic environmental claims such as "environmentally friendly", "eco-friendly", "green", "climate neutral" and "carbon neutral" unless the claim is backed by recognised excellent environmental performance, and it comes into application from 27 September 2026. Unqualified sustainability labels that are not based on a certification scheme are banned outright.
The UK is moving the same direction through CMA guidance and the CAP Code: a green claim must be specific, clear, and prove the benefit it implies. "100% sustainable" is unprovable by definition, which makes it indefensible in practice.
The fix is specificity. Vague claims lose; measurable ones survive:
Instead of: "Eco-friendly packaging — 100% sustainable" Write: "Box made from 92% recycled cardboard; void fill is compostable"
Instead of: "Carbon neutral shipping" Write: "We pay into a certified ocean-cleanup programme at 1 kg of plastic per order — receipts published quarterly"
If you cannot put a number or a certificate next to it, drop the green word entirely. A plain factual sentence beats a flag.
3. Price claims: "cheapest" is a comparison against the whole market
"Cheapest", "lowest price", "best price", "we beat any price" — each of these is a comparison claim, and UK CAP pricing rules require the comparison to be true at the moment it is shown, against the market it implies, and easy for the buyer to check.
Two specific traps:
- A price-match promise you do not run. "We beat any price" is a standing offer. If a customer actually asks and the policy does not exist, the claim was misleading the entire time.
- A "cheapest" that was true for a week. Ranking one-off price checks from the day of launch do not stay true. A claim without a date is a claim about right now.
Instead of: "Cheapest kettles online — we beat any price" Write: "$34. Free delivery over $40. 2-year warranty included"
Price plus terms is persuasive without being comparative. If you genuinely run a documented price-match programme, name its conditions instead of the superlative: "Price-match: we refund the difference against any UK retailer within 14 days."
What CopyForge checks automatically
Since ruleset 2026.08.2, CopyForge's compliance scan flags all three families on every generation for the relevant channels:
- Unsubstantiated proof claim — "clinically proven", "scientifically proven", "lab tested", "proven to…" — source: UK CAP Code rule 3.7.
- Unqualified environmental claim — "eco-friendly", "100% sustainable", "carbon neutral" — source: EU Directive 2024/825 (green-transition consumer rules).
- Unsubstantiated lowest-price claim — "cheapest", "lowest price", "price match" — source: UK CAP Code pricing rules.
Every flag quotes the exact phrase that matched, names the rule, and links the source, so you can fix the sentence instead of guessing what tripped it.
The five-point checklist
Before you publish UK/EU copy, ask:
- Can I produce a study that tested this exact claim on this exact product?
- Does every green word have a number or a certificate next to it?
- Is any price claim true right now, against the whole market it implies?
- Would a competitor be able to check it in under five minutes?
- If a regulator asked for evidence today, would I have it?
Four yeses is a draft. Five yeses is a listing.
A closing honesty note
These rules are text-level checks, not a legal review. Category-specific requirements, product safety rules such as GPSR, tax and customs obligations, and marketplace-specific policies sit on top of everything above. What the scan does is remove the wording-level causes of UK and EU rulings — the part of the exposure that lives in the sentences you wrote.