After the recent approval of this directive in parliament, the European Council has declared the adoption of a directive focused on protecting consumers from
misleading claims in relation to environmental or “green” products and services. The scope of this legislation is to address the growing concern over misleading claims made by companies, commonly referred to as “greenwashing”.
Important components of the new legislation include the prohibition of environmental claims, such as “eco-friendly” or “biodegradable”, without supporting evidence to substantiate these claims, as well as the prohibition of sustainability labels that are not supported by official certification schemes or established by public authorities.
Some other components of the directive include:
- Prohibition of unsubstantiated durability claims
- Prohibition of falsely claiming product repairability
- Prohibition on encouraging premature replacement of goods
- Requirement for guarantees to be more visible on products
- Introduction of a standardized label for products with extended guarantees
Ultimately, this directive enables consumers to trust the sustainability claims brought forward by companies while preventing the misuse of such claims for marketing purposes.
Having been adopted, this directive is now set to be signed by the presidents of the Parliament and the Council. Member States will then have a period of two (2) years to implement the rules into their national law following the directive’s publication in the EU’s Official Journal.
This article is not intended to constitute legal advice and neither does it exhaust all relevant aspects of the topic.
