More than 40% of green claims about the alleged virtues of products on websites are ‘greenwashing’ on the part of unscrupulous traders, according to the results of a website sweep published on Thursday 28 January by the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities.
This joint annual exercise whereby online sites are swept for breaches of EU consumer law focused on various sectors such as clothing, cosmetics and household equipment.
A general investigation of the websites showed that 42% of the claims were exaggerated, false or misleading, and may be considered unfair commercial practices under EU consumer protection law.
A further examination of 344 apparently dubious claims led to the following findings: - in more than half of the cases, the trader did not provide sufficient information to consumers to allow them to judge the accuracy of the claim; - in 37% of cases, the claim contained vague and generalised statements such as “conscious”, “ecological”, or “sustainable”, which were intended to give consumers the unsubstantiated impression that a product did not have a negative impact on the environment; - in 59% of cases, the professional had not provided readily available evidence to support their claim.
In a press release, the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, noted that “empowering consumers in the green transition and fighting greenwashing is precisely one of the main priorities of the New Consumer Agenda” that will orient EU consumer policy for the 2021–2025 period (see EUROPE 12638/7, 12617/11).
The national authorities will now contact those companies concerned to inform them of the issues that have been found and to ensure that they are corrected. The results of this sweep will be integrated in the impact assessment that will be prepared for the future legislative proposal on fighting greenwashing. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)