All of the products labeled within this strategy rely to a large extent on offsetting. Offsetting projects, whether through nature restoration or energy projects, are unreliable and difficult to measure and as such are a false solution to emissions reductions. Using offsets to claim a specific product is carbon neutral can also be misleading to consumers, who expect real emissions reductions with such claims.

In particular, it is misleading to associate a dairy product like cheddar with carbon neutrality: dairy is a high emissions food product due to methane emitted from animals and other CO2 impacts associated with feed and land conversion. Calling such products carbon neutral misleads consumers by suggesting their green and environmentally neutral.