Filenews 24 January 2024
The European Union has finally given the green light to a new directive that improves product labelling and bans the use of misleading environmental claims.
The directive, adopted today by 593 votes to 21, with 14 abstentions, aims to better protect consumers from misleading advertising and help them make better decisions about the products they buy. To achieve this, a number of problematic marketing tactics related to greenwashing and premature obsolescence of products will be added to the EU's list of prohibited trading practices.
More accurate and reliable advertising
Most importantly, the new rules make the information on products clearer and more reliable by prohibiting the use of generic environmental claims such as 'environmentally friendly', 'natural', 'biodegradable', 'climate-friendly' or 'ecological' when these are not proven by evidence.
The new Directive also regulates the use of sustainability labels, given the confusion among consumers due to the multitude of such labels, which are not easily comparable. In future, only sustainability labels based on formal certification schemes or established by public authorities will be allowed in the EU.
In addition, the directive will prohibit claims that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment because it uses 'emissions offsetting' schemes.
Focus on product durability
Another important objective of the new directive is to place greater emphasis on product durability for manufacturers and consumers. From now on, information on a product's warranty should be more visible, and a new, harmonised label will be introduced to allow products with a longer warranty period to stand out more.
The new rules will also prohibit making unsubstantiated claims about a product's durability (e.g. that a washing machine will last 5,000 wash cycles if this is not the case under normal circumstances), encouraging consumers to replace their supplies earlier than strictly necessary (as is often the case with printer inks) and presenting products as repairable; when in fact it is not.
Statements
Parliament's rapporteur Biljana Borzan (S&D, Croatia) said: "This legislation will change the daily lives of all Europeans. We will move away from the mentality of substituting goods, make marketing more transparent and combat premature obsolescence of products. Consumers will be able to choose products that are more durable, repairable and sustainable thanks to reliable labels and advertisements. Most importantly, companies can no longer fool consumers by saying their plastic bottles are good because the company plants trees somewhere, or say something is sustainable without explaining how. This is a great victory for all of us."
Next steps
The directive now needs final adoption by the Council, after which it will be published in the EU's Official Journal. Member states will then have 24 months to transpose it into national law.
Related information
The aim is for the new directive to be implemented together with the Green Claims Directive, which is currently being discussed in the competent committee of the European Parliament. The forthcoming Green Claims Directive will be more specific and will regulate in more detail the conditions for the use of environmental claims.
