"Greenwashing" on the rise, EU looks to clamp down

The practice of 'Greenwashing' - whereby companies take advantage of consumers looking to buy environmentally sound products - is on the increase, according to a recent EU report on online breaches of EU consumer law.

The news comes as the European Commission and national consumer authorities released results of their annual 'sweep' of websites, an exercise carried out each year to identify breaches of EU consumer law online.

This year, for the first time ever, the sweep focused on 'greenwashing', the practice by which companies claim they are doing more for the environment than they actually are. The "sweep" analysed green online claims from various business sectors such as garments, cosmetics and household equipment.

National consumer protection authorities had reason to believe that in 42% of cases the claims were exaggerated, false or deceptive and could potentially qualify as unfair commercial practices under EU rules. 'Greenwashing' has increased as consumers increasingly seek to buy environmentally sound products.

"More and more people want to live a green life," said Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders, "and I applaud companies that strive to produce eco-friendly products or services. However, there are also unscrupulous traders out there, who pull the wool over consumers' eyes with vague, false or exaggerated claims."

After a broader screening, the Commission and consumer authorities examined 344 seemingly dubious claims in more detail and found that:

• In more than half of the cases, the trader did not provide sufficient information for consumers to judge the claim's accuracy.
• In 37% of cases, the claim included vague and general statements such as "conscious", "eco-friendly", "sustainable" which aimed to convey the unsubstantiated impression to consumers that a product had no negative impact on the environment.
• Moreover, in 59% of cases the trader had not provided easily accessible evidence to support its claim.

In their overall assessments, taking various factors into account, in 42% of cases authorities had reason to believe that the claim may be false or deceptive and could therefore potentially amount to an unfair commercial practice under the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD).

National authorities will now contact the companies concerned to point out the issues detected and to ensure that these are rectified where necessary. The findings of the sweep will also feed into the impact assessment to be prepared for a new legislative proposal to empower consumers for the green transition.

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