Overview
ISO/TS 17033:2019 - Ethical claims and supporting information - Principles and requirements - provides guidance for developing, declaring and communicating ethical claims where no specific standard exists or to supplement existing standards. It is intended for use by all types of organizations and applies to ethical claims about a product, process, service or organization. The Technical Specification promotes accurate, verifiable and non‑misleading statements about social, economic justice, animal welfare and sustainability-related aspects.
Key Topics and Requirements
ISO/TS 17033:2019 sets out high‑level principles and associated requirements that underpin credible ethical claims. Major themes include:
- Principles
- Reliability: claims must be accurate, verifiable and not misleading.
- Transparency: procedures, methodology, criteria and assumptions used to substantiate claims should be publicly available and accessible.
- Relevance: claims should consider relevant life‑cycle stages, best scientific understanding and good practice, adapted to local conditions.
- Involvement of interested parties and equity: stakeholder engagement and fairness are encouraged when developing claims.
- General requirements for drafting and declaring ethical claims.
- Requirements for comparative ethical claims, including how to substantiate superiority or equivalence between products, services or over time.
- Presentation and point‑of‑sale requirements, covering how claims, symbols and explanatory statements are displayed to users.
- Supporting data and supporting information: verifiable technical information and accessible background material that substantiate the claim.
- Traceability and supply chain considerations, plus guidance on ethical labelling programmes and annexes on traceability systems and principles-to-requirements flowcharts.
Applications and Who Uses It
ISO/TS 17033:2019 is practical for organizations and stakeholders who need to create, assess or communicate ethical claims, including:
- Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers declaring ethical attributes on packaging or marketing.
- Brand owners and marketing teams designing ethical labels, symbols or explanatory statements.
- Certification bodies and programme operators developing aspect‑specific or sector‑specific ethical claim programmes.
- Procurement teams, policy makers and NGOs evaluating claims for transparency and credibility.
- Consumers and researchers seeking to understand what an ethical claim means and how it is substantiated.
Practical uses include creating new claims, improving existing claims for clarity and verifiability, supporting ethical labelling programmes, and reducing consumer confusion or unfair competition in the marketplace.
Related Standards
- ISO/TS 17033:2019 references and aligns with existing ISO guidance (e.g., ISO 14021 and ISO 14040 terminology and concepts) and is intended to supplement other sector‑ or aspect‑specific standards where needed. For authoritative application, consult the full Technical Specification and national standards bodies.
