Swisspers
Swisspers makes no plastic-free claim and its cotton swabs are explicitly marketed with "plastic sticks" - the molded plastic stem that the EU and UK single-use plastic bans removed, but which remains standard on many US shelves. It is the plastic-stem swab this category exists to steer people away from, especially when a paper-stemmed drugstore swab sits right beside it.
How clear are their specs?
Straightforwardly labels the stick as plastic; the material question is not hidden, it is simply the wrong answer for a plastic-free shopper.
Products to avoid
Documented so you know what to skip — each still has a full breakdown and sources.