LEGISLATION TO BAN misleading environmental claims on products has been approved by the European Parliament.
The new rules will mean that products labelled ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘natural’ or ‘biodegradable’ without concrete evidence will be banned.
The terms ‘climate-neutral’ and ‘eco’ also fall under the directive. Claims based solely on the use of carbon offseting will be banned.
The changes are aimed at holding manufacturers accountable and fostering transparency for consumers.
Under the new law, sustainability labels must be based on approved certification schemes or established by public authorities.
Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe welcomed the law, which will enter force in Ireland and other member states after being rubberstamped by member states soon.
Cuffe said consumers will be “better protected from bogus ‘green’ product labels and products that aren’t made to last.”
He added that some companies are “taking advantage” of environmentally conscious customers.
The new directive also looks at durability. Unfounded durability claims will be banned, such as ‘this washing machine will last for 5,000 washing cycles’ if that is not true.
Presenting items as repairable when they are not also falls under the new rules.
Labour’s climate spokesperson, Rebecca Moynihan welcomed the decision and added that the new changes must be implemented quickly.
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This work is co-funded by Journal Media and a grant programme from the European Parliament. Any opinions or conclusions expressed in this work are the author’s own. The European Parliament has no involvement in nor responsibility for the editorial content published by the project. For more information, see here.
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