Vague product claims such as “green” and “environmentally friendly” are to be banned in the EU if they are not proven. This is part of a proposal by the EU Commission on Wednesday to strengthen consumer rights and prevent so-called greenwashing. It also stipulates that consumers must be informed if the shelf life of a product is limited, for example because a device’s software limits its functionality at a certain point in time. Also, no statement should be made about the environmental compatibility of a product if it actually only affects a certain part of it.
Consumer rights and greenwashing
The EU Commission presented a comprehensive package on Wednesday that is intended to advance the so-called circular economy in the EU and help the EU meet its Green Deal goals. This states that the European Union should become climate-neutral by 2050. Part of the package now presented concerns consumer rights and greenwashing. Consumers should have a right to information in order to make sustainable decisions, said EU Commissioner Didier Reynders.
In the future, customers should be better informed about how and whether devices can be repaired and how long they are guaranteed to last. In the case of digital devices, this applies to software updates by the manufacturers. Sellers would also have to state whether they were getting a three, four or year guarantee – or whether there was no manufacturer’s guarantee, said Reynders. The EU states and the European Parliament now have to discuss the proposals before they agree on a common line. (dpa)
