The Doughnut conceptual framework, originally developed by the economist Kate Raworth, delineates a “safe and just space” for human activities, located between a social foundation and an ecological ceiling. A targeted literature review shows that over the past decade this visually appealing, holistic and scientifically grounded framework has gained attention for its potential to guide socio-ecological transitions globally. At the same time, it has faced various theoretical critiques related to its scientific validity, social justice considerations, and challenges in local adaptations. This article seeks to bring clarity to the critiques often directed at the Doughnut, distinguishing those that refer to the Doughnut framework from those arising when attempting to implement it locally. It does so by drawing on two action research projects conducted in Switzerland using specific approaches for its practical applications at the local level—the Doughnut Unrolled methodology and the Data Portrait quantification. Moreover, it identifies the difficulties in maintaining the integrity of the framework and its strong sustainability principles when applied to regional or municipal scales. This article thus contributes to the discussion on the often-overlooked gap between the global conceptual framework and its practical implementation at the local level, particularly in Global North contexts. To address this and avoid any kind of “Doughnut-washing”, this article proposes six guiding principles for maintaining the framework’s integrity in local implementations. By applying these principles, it argues that the Doughnut framework can retain its transformative potential while remaining scientifically robust and actionable at various governance scales.