No more "green" products with new EU law

Greenwashing
Greenwashing

The EU's new directive against greenwashing means the end of vague claims about products' climate and environmental impact. Instead, companies must present evidence for their environmental claims.

Published: 4 Jun, 2024

Terms like "climate neutral," "green," and self-made eco-labels are becoming more common on everyday products but often lack scientific basis. The EU now wants to address these business practices.

According to the new Green Claims Directive, all claims about a product's sustainability must be supported by evidence. A major step towards consumer protection, but it will mean new regulations for companies. Companies will be subject to strict rules for product labeling, environmental claims, sustainability labels, and claims about environmental impact.

In the future, environmental claims will need independent verification to ensure they have supporting evidence and accurately reflect the products' entire lifecycle. Additionally, companies would be required to provide a QR code on their packaging where consumers can see details about the claims and the evidence for them.

The legislation pushes for transparency and honesty regarding green claims. Testfakta views the new EU directive as a victory for consumers and an additional reason for companies to explore how they can collaborate with third parties to ensure they deliver a positive climate impact.

Testfakta Bio-Based