Can Furniture Brands Still Simply Say “Sustainable” in Germany?

For years, “sustainable” has been one of the easiest words to put into a furniture catalogue.

Sustainable materials. Sustainable furniture. Sustainable collection. Eco-friendly packaging.

But in Germany, that language is entering a much more demanding phase.

From 27 September 2026, new rules tighten the conditions for environmental and sustainability claims. According to the Deutsche Gütegemeinschaft Möbel (DGM), sustainability labels must be based on a certification scheme or established by public authorities. Self-created green labels without independent verification will no longer be acceptable in the same way. Broad environmental claims such as “environmentally friendly” or “sustainable” also need clear specification.

So, can a furniture brand still simply call a chair, table or collection “sustainable” in Germany?

The practical answer is: not simply. The direction is moving from broad green language towards specific, verifiable environmental information.

For furniture buyers, product managers and sourcing teams, this matters far beyond marketing. Environmental claims begin with what suppliers can actually document.

What Changes in Germany on 27 September 2026?

The key change is not that companies must stop communicating environmental benefits.

It is that environmental communication needs to become more specific and better substantiated.

Germany’s new rules form part of the wider European effort to give consumers better protection against misleading environmental claims. For furniture companies, two areas deserve particular attention.

Generic environmental claims need more context

Words such as “sustainable” and “environmentally friendly” are extremely broad.

A chair might contain recycled fabric but still use conventional foam, metal and packaging. A dining table might use certified wood while other components have different environmental characteristics.

Calling the entire product “sustainable” can therefore communicate much more than the underlying evidence actually proves.

The better approach is to identify what exactly is being claimed.

Instead of:

“This is a sustainable dining chair.”

A company may need to communicate something more specific, such as the environmental characteristic of a particular material, component or packaging solution, provided that the statement can be substantiated.

The difference looks small in a catalogue.

From a sourcing perspective, it is significant.

Self-created green labels face tighter restrictions

The second important area is environmental labels.

Furniture companies have historically been able to create their own icons and sustainability graphics: a green leaf, an “eco collection” badge or another symbol that visually suggests independent environmental approval.

Under the new framework, sustainability labels need to be based on an appropriate certification scheme or established by a public authority.

That changes the value of a green logo.

A graphic designed by a marketing department is not the same thing as a label backed by an independent certification system.

For buyers, this distinction should become part of supplier evaluation.

“Sustainable” Is Not a Product Specification

In my experience working with European furniture buyers, one of the biggest problems with sustainability discussions is that they often begin with the wrong question.

The question is usually:

“Is this chair sustainable?”

I would rather ask:

“Which part of this chair has an environmental benefit, and what evidence supports that claim?”

That question is much more useful.

Furniture is rarely a single material. An upholstered dining chair may combine steel, plywood, foam, fabric, glue, powder coating, plastic components and packaging materials.

Each has its own supply chain.

This is why “sustainable” should not be treated like a technical specification such as seat height, fabric composition or carton dimensions.

It is a broad conclusion that may depend on many underlying facts.

Professional sourcing teams therefore need to move from claim-based sustainability to evidence-based sustainability.

What Should Furniture Buyers Ask Suppliers?

The new rules should encourage buyers to ask more precise questions during product development.

Not:

“Do you have sustainable products?”

But:

“What evidence can you provide for the environmental claims we want to make about this product?”

That change in wording can reveal a great deal about a supplier.

Ask what the claim actually refers to

Does “sustainable” refer to:

• the upholstery fabric?

• the timber?

• recycled content?

• the packaging?

• reduced plastic?

• manufacturing processes?

• durability?

• a third-party certification?

These are different claims and should not be treated as interchangeable.

A supplier that uses recycled fabric, for example, should not automatically describe every environmental aspect of the finished chair as sustainable.

The scope of the claim matters.

Ask for documentation before marketing begins

Environmental evidence should ideally be discussed during sourcing and product development, not after the catalogue has already been designed.

Buyers may need relevant material specifications, certification information, supplier declarations or other documentation depending on the claim being made.

This also means marketing teams and sourcing teams need to communicate more closely.

A purchasing department may know exactly which component has changed. A marketing department may turn that change into a much broader message.

That gap creates risk.

From Green Words to Verifiable Product Information

The following distinction is useful for furniture purchasing teams.

Broad marketing approach	More evidence-focused approach	What buyers should verify
“Sustainable chair”	Identify the specific environmental attribute	Which component or process supports the statement
“Eco-friendly fabric”	Describe the relevant verified characteristic	Fabric composition, testing or applicable certification
“Green packaging”	State what has actually changed	Material composition and reduction or replacement of specific packaging materials
Self-created eco badge	Use an eligible recognised certification or explain the specific attribute in text	Who operates and verifies the certification scheme
“Environmentally friendly collection”	Explain the relevant environmental characteristics product by product	Whether evidence covers the whole collection or only selected products
“Recycled material”	Specify where recycled material is used	Material documentation and scope of recycled content

The principle is straightforward:

The narrower and more factual the claim, the easier it is to understand what evidence should support it.

That is useful not only for compliance. It also improves purchasing decisions.

Why This Matters When Sourcing Furniture from China

For European furniture brands sourcing internationally, environmental marketing claims often depend on information several steps back in the supply chain.

A German retailer may put the claim on its website, but the underlying information may originate with a fabric mill, timber supplier, packaging producer or furniture factory in Asia.

That creates a documentation chain.

If the European company wants to communicate a specific environmental benefit, sourcing teams need to know whether the supplier can provide information that supports it.

This makes sustainability increasingly relevant to supplier management.

A good supplier should understand the difference between evidence and marketing

A supplier saying “yes, this is eco-friendly” is not enough.

Professional buyers should expect more precise answers:

What material are we discussing?

Which environmental characteristic?

Which document supports it?

Does the evidence apply to the component or the finished product?

Who issued the certification?

Is the certificate current and relevant to the actual material being ordered?

These questions may sound administrative, but they prevent a familiar sourcing problem: a marketing claim becoming broader as it moves through the supply chain.

Sustainability Claims Start at Product Development

One consequence of the new environment is that sustainability communication cannot be left entirely to the marketing department.

It starts much earlier.

Consider the development of an upholstered dining chair.

The buyer selects the fabric. The supplier determines the foam and frame construction. Packaging is developed. Material documentation is collected. Samples are approved. Production begins.

If environmental communication only becomes a discussion after all these decisions have been made, the company may discover that the evidence does not support the marketing language it planned to use.

A better sequence is:

product decision → evidence → verified scope → communication.

Not:

marketing claim → search for evidence afterwards.

That is an important shift for B2B furniture sourcing.

Packaging Is a Good Example of More Precise Communication

Packaging illustrates why specificity matters.

At ASKT, we have been working on packaging approaches that reduce plastic use and use paper-based protective solutions such as honeycomb paper where appropriate.

From a buyer’s perspective, the useful information is not simply:

“This packaging is sustainable.”

The useful questions are much more concrete:

How much plastic has been removed?

Which plastic components have been replaced?

What material is used instead?

Does the alternative still protect the furniture during transport?

Does the packaging change carton dimensions or loading efficiency?

Can the supplier provide accurate material information?

This way of thinking is more credible because it connects environmental improvement with the realities of furniture logistics.

After all, packaging has several jobs. It must protect the product, support efficient loading and help reduce damage during a long international supply chain.

Environmental improvement cannot be considered in isolation from those functions.

Sustainability Does Not Replace Quality and Durability

There is another point furniture buyers should not overlook.

A product's environmental story does not remove the need for basic product performance.

A dining chair still needs stability. Upholstery still needs suitable abrasion resistance and colour fastness. Metal frames need consistent welding and finishing. Packaging still needs to survive transport.

At ASKT, for example, fabric evaluation includes practical characteristics such as abrasion resistance, colour fastness and breathability, alongside the documentation relevant to specific materials.

This matters because sustainability and durability should not become competing conversations.

If an environmental material choice leads to substantially poorer product performance, more damage or more frequent replacement, the purchasing team has another commercial problem to solve.

For B2B buyers, environmental performance therefore belongs inside the broader product evaluation process.

What Should Furniture Brands Review Before 27 September 2026?

Furniture companies selling into Germany should use the change as a reason to review the language and evidence behind their environmental communication.

Start with customer-facing claims.

Review product pages, catalogues, packaging, labels, hangtags, showroom materials and other consumer-facing marketing where environmental terminology appears.

Then trace each claim backwards.

What does the statement refer to?

What evidence supports it?

Does the evidence cover the whole product or only one component?

Is a sustainability label backed by an appropriate certification system?

Could a broad statement be replaced with a more precise factual one?

For importers and retailers, suppliers should be part of that review.

A purchasing team cannot communicate accurately if its supply chain cannot provide accurate information.

A Practical Buyer Checklist

Before approving an environmental claim for a furniture product, buyers can ask:

• What exactly are we claiming?

• Does the claim apply to the complete product or one component?

• What evidence supports it?

• Can the supplier provide the relevant documentation?

• Is any sustainability label backed by an appropriate certification system?

• Are we using broad terms where a more precise description would be clearer?

• Do our product page, catalogue and packaging communicate the same information?

• Has the documentation been checked against the actual material or product specification being purchased?

• Can the supplier maintain the same specification during repeat orders?

• Are marketing, sourcing and product teams working from the same evidence?

This is not simply a compliance checklist.

It is also a supplier-quality checklist.

A factory that can trace materials, specifications and documentation consistently is generally easier for a professional purchasing team to work with than one that responds to every environmental question with the same word: “sustainable.”

FAQ

Can furniture brands still use the word “sustainable” in Germany?

The word itself is not simply disappearing from furniture marketing, but broad environmental claims face much stricter conditions. From 27 September 2026, generic claims such as “sustainable” require clear specification in the relevant communication context. Companies should therefore avoid treating the term as a standalone marketing slogan without adequate substantiation.

What changes on 27 September 2026?

Germany introduces stricter rules concerning environmental advertising and sustainability claims. Among the changes highlighted by the German government and DGM are stronger requirements for broad environmental claims and restrictions on sustainability labels that are not based on an appropriate certification system or established by public authorities.

Can a furniture company create its own green sustainability label?

A self-created sustainability label without an underlying independent certification system becomes particularly problematic under the new rules. Furniture companies should distinguish clearly between their own branding graphics and recognised sustainability labels supported by qualifying certification systems.

Does using recycled material make an entire chair sustainable?

Not automatically. Recycled content may support a specific environmental statement about the relevant material, but it does not by itself establish every environmental characteristic of the complete furniture product. The scope of the evidence should match the scope of the claim.

What should furniture buyers request from suppliers?

Buyers should request evidence relevant to the environmental statement they intend to make. Depending on the claim, this may include material specifications, certification information, supplier documentation and clear identification of which product component the evidence covers.

Are environmental claims only a marketing department issue?

No. In furniture, the evidence usually begins in sourcing and product development. Material selection, supplier documentation, packaging design and production specifications can all affect what a brand can accurately communicate later.

Does the new rule apply only to furniture made in Germany?

The key issue is the marketing of products to the relevant German consumer market, not simply where the furniture was manufactured. For European buyers importing furniture from China or elsewhere, this makes supplier documentation and traceability particularly important.

Conclusion

So, can furniture brands still simply say “sustainable” in Germany?

The important word in that question is “simply.”

From 27 September 2026, environmental communication in Germany moves further away from vague green language and towards claims that are specific, understandable and supported by appropriate evidence.

For the furniture industry, I see this as more than a marketing change.

It is a sourcing change.

European buyers will increasingly need to know not only whether a supplier offers recycled fabrics, paper-based packaging or other environmental improvements, but also what exactly has improved, how it can be documented and what the evidence actually allows the brand to communicate.

That is a healthier question for the industry.

Because “sustainable” is easy to print on a catalogue.

Building a product specification and supply chain that can stand behind the words takes much more work.

For European furniture buyers evaluating dining chair and dining table suppliers, ASKT approaches sustainability from this practical sourcing perspective: material choices, documentation, product durability, packaging optimisation and transparent communication should work together.

The future of sustainable furniture communication is therefore likely to be less about finding greener words — and more about providing better evidence.