Etsy attributes: when you can select Recycled, Organic, Plastic-free, Upcycled or Vegan

Attributes are the item details you pick after you choose a category — color, material, occasion and the rest. Etsy: Listing attributes allow you to describe your items with distinct, detailed characteristics to help buyers get a clear idea of what you’re selling. Attributes can also help buyers find your items more easily in search results. In the version of Etsy’s attributes article edited on 16 September 2026, the Materials (Hemp, Linen, Organic, Recycled) and the Material features (Plastic-free, Reusable, Upcycled, Vegan) carry conditions of their own, and choosing one is a claim: By selecting a Material or Material feature, you are making a claim that it accurately describes your item, is not misleading, and is supported by sufficient information. Pick one below and answer Etsy’s conditions; the first “no” is your answer. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Each question is one of Etsy’s conditions, in the order Etsy gives them; the line under it is Etsy’s own sentence. This is not legal advice, and Etsy says the same about its guidance.

What attributes are

• The category you select for your items determines the attributes you can add for the item. If you can’t find an exact match for your item, select the most relevant attributes available.
• Attributes do not replace tags: Fill out both attributes and tags for your listings to make sure potential buyers find and see your items on Etsy. Etsy’s example is a lemon-colored scarf with no “lemon” option, listed as Yellow: If you find that your unique color label is an important search term as well, you can add "lemon scarf" as a listing tag for your item. Tag rules: Etsy tag limit.
• Buyers can filter by them. When searching for items on Etsy.com, select Show filters, then select the options you’re looking for under Material or Material features. The available filters and values depend on the category of item you’re searching for.
• Materials identify substances or components used to make an item, such as Hemp, Organic cotton, or Recycled glass. Material features describe certain characteristics of an item or the materials used to make it, such as Plastic-free, Reusable, Upcycled, or Vegan.

Materials: Hemp, Linen, Organic, Recycled

• Select a Material when it describes the item’s composition as a whole, rather than only a separate component. Small functional components, such as zippers, buttons, or clasps, may be made from another material when buyers would not ordinarily expect the selected Material to describe them.
• Hemp and Linen: Select Hemp or Linen when it makes up the item’s entire fiber composition. Provide the item’s complete fiber composition in the listing description. Do not select Hemp for an unrelated fiber that includes “hemp” in its common name, such as Manila hemp, which is abaca.
• Organic cotton, hemp and linen: Select an Organic Material when it makes up the item’s entire fiber composition and you have evidence that the crop was certified to an organic standard recognized under applicable laws.
• Recycled cotton, polyester, glass, metal, paper and plastic: Select a Recycled material when it makes up the item’s entire fiber or material composition and you have evidence supporting its recycled content. Material routinely reused within the same manufacturing process does not qualify. An existing item or material that is merely reused, repurposed, or incorporated into a new item without being reprocessed into new material also does not qualify as Recycled, although the Upcycled value may be appropriate.
• What the description must say: Identify the type of metal in the listing description (e.g., aluminum, steel, or silver). Identify the type of plastic in the listing description when that information is available (e.g., PET, HDPE, or polypropylene). Any recycled-content claim in the listing description must reflect the Recycled paper physically present in the item; do not present a credit-based or allocated claim as physical recycled content. Any recycled-content claim in the listing description must reflect the Recycled plastic physically present in the item; do not present a mass-balance or attributed-content claim as physical recycled content.

Material features: Plastic-free, Reusable, Upcycled, Vegan

• Plastic-free: refers to the entire item and its product packaging containing no plastic, including plastic components, coatings, or linings. Conventional, bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics all count as plastic. Do not select Plastic-free if applicable law already requires that type of item to be plastic-free, if plastic would not ordinarily be associated with the item or its product packaging, or if a replacement substance poses the same or similar environmental risks. Packaging used only to ship the order is outside the scope of this value.
• Select Reusable when the item or identified part is intended to replace a comparable product that is commonly used once and discarded; an ordinary durable item does not qualify merely because it can be used more than once. Identify what is reusable in the listing description, explain how it can be reused, and provide any relevant cleaning, maintenance, or refill instructions.
• Do not select Upcycled solely because an item was resold, cleaned, repaired, or reused without meaningful transformation. Identify the original input in the listing description, explain how it was transformed, and state whether the value applies to the entire item or one part.
• Select Vegan when this is true for the entire item and animal-derived inputs may ordinarily be relevant to that type of item. Vegan does not necessarily mean that the item is cruelty-free, was not tested on animals, or is allergen-free.

Who answers for the claim

• Select an optional Material or Material feature when it accurately describes your item and you have information supporting the selection.
• If you select a Material or Material feature, provide enough information in the listing description for buyers to understand how it applies to the item. Keep records supporting any Material or Material feature you select and any related claims in your listing description.
• Etsy does not verify or assume any responsibility for the accuracy of attributes selected by sellers.

Selling to the EU: green claims since 27 September 2026

• The EU Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECGT), which takes effect on September 27, 2026, updates EU consumer protection laws to address environmental claims and introduces new information requirements around consumer guarantee rights and product durability and repairability.
• It applies when You market items to buyers in the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes all EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. — and you are a “trader”: If you signed up on Etsy as a “business” seller, you’re automatically designated as a “trader” within your shop and listings.
• Under ECGT, environmental claims must be specific and backed by evidence. Generally prohibited in listings for EEA buyers: Generic terms like “eco-friendly,” “green,” or “sustainable” unless backed by recognized excellent environmental performance. Claims based on offsets of greenhouse gas emissions like “carbon neutral” and “net zero”. Claims about your entire shop or businesses that only relate to certain items or listings.
• The attributes are part of it: By selecting one of these attributes, you are certifying that your item meets that attribute’s description and that you have the necessary supporting documentation. More broadly, Etsy may remove or restrict listings that it becomes aware of that do not comply with the requirements under ECGT.

The check looks for the terms Etsy names as examples: “eco-friendly”, “sustainable”, “carbon neutral”, “net zero” (with or without a hyphen). Etsy’s list also has “green”; it is not flagged here because most listings use it for a color. Read the sentence around any match yourself: Etsy allows generic terms that are backed by recognized excellent environmental performance.

The rest of the listing — title, 13 tags, photos, renewal — is checked against Etsy’s published rules by the free listing checker: paste the link.

Sources: Etsy Help Center articles “How to Use Attributes When Listing an Item” (edited 16 September 2026), “How to Shop for Items Using Materials and Material Features” (edited 16 September 2026), “EU Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (ECGT)” (edited 15 September 2026), read on 22 October 2026. Quotes are copied word for word; the help center can change after that date.

Common questions

Every condition on this page is quoted from Etsy’s Help Center; nothing is paraphrased into a rule Etsy did not write. · Every listing limit · AI disclosure rule · Listing checker · Variations · All free tools