eco friendly

5 synonyms and 3 antonyms for eco friendly, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adjective — Designed or made so as to do as little harm to the natural environment as possible, for example by using less energy, avoiding toxic materials or being recyclable.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

green

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

sustainable

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

environmentally friendly low-impact earth-friendly

Antonyms

polluting harmful wasteful

How to use eco friendly

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

eco-friendly packaging eco-friendly products eco-friendly cleaning more eco-friendly

Very common in marketing; sceptical readers may treat it as a greenwashing signal unless it is backed by specifics.

Etymology

A compound of the prefix 'eco-', shortened from 'ecology' (ultimately from Greek 'oikos', house), and 'friendly' in the sense 'not harmful to'.

Full origin of eco friendly →

Frequently asked questions

Is it 'eco friendly' or 'eco-friendly'?

The hyphenated 'eco-friendly' is the standard spelling in dictionaries and edited prose. The unhyphenated 'eco friendly' is very common online and in marketing, but hyphenate it before a noun to be safe.

What is the difference between eco-friendly and sustainable?

Eco-friendly describes a single product or practice that causes little environmental harm right now. Sustainable is a stronger claim about a whole system being able to continue indefinitely without depleting resources. A recyclable plastic bottle can be eco-friendly without the system that makes it being sustainable.

Is 'eco-friendly' a regulated term?

In most countries it is not a defined legal term, so anyone can use it. Advertising regulators do require such claims to be truthful and substantiated, which is why vague uses are often criticised as greenwashing.

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green sustainable harmful wasteful polluting

Nearby words

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