Greenwashing has been reined in. On 27 September 2026, new EU consumer protection requirements on environmental claims came into force, primarily to reduce greenwashing and protect consumers from misleading environmental claims.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5352,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[249],"tags":[407,254,408,398],"class_list":["post-26032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","tag-environment","tag-european-union","tag-green-transition","tag-sustainability"],"acf":{"postbuilder":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text","type":"text","text":"A European Commission study carried out six years ago found that more than half of environmental claims were misleading and 40% were entirely unsubstantiated. To protect consumers from such greenwashing, for example, manufacturers may no longer attach unsubstantiated ecolabels or written claims to products, or use nature imagery or designs that create a more environmentally friendly impression and seemingly justify charging consumers a higher price.\r\n
Claims and labels suggesting environmental friendliness must be substantiated so that consumers are not misled.<\/p><\/blockquote>","image":null,"align":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":25976},{"acf_fc_layout":"text","type":"text","text":"
Is silence now golden?<\/h4>\r\nThe changes do not prohibit discussion of environmental or sustainability issues, but they directly affect how such messages are worded and what they may seek to achieve. At first glance, the prohibitions may seem absurd and restrictive, but they are designed to protect consumers.\r\n\r\nThey also protect against unfair competition. A competitor may create a green impression through its communications, appealing more to younger generations or more informed consumers, even though its operations may not actually be more environmentally responsible than those of other companies in the same sector.\r\n\r\nMisleading consumers in any way has been prohibited since 2005, but the new requirements explicitly address environmental aspects.\r\n\r\nThe broader or more ambitious a claim, the stronger its supporting evidence must be. If a company makes forward-looking claims \u2014 for example, \u201cWe will be climate-neutral by 2050\u201d \u2014 these must be supported by an implementation plan approved by an impartial body.\r\n\r\nThere are more changes protecting consumers than this brief overview can cover. Among other things, companies may no longer present the absence of substances already prohibited in a product category as a distinctive feature of a product. Nor may they conceal from consumers that a software update could impair a product\u2019s performance.\r\n\r\nOverall, the new requirements mean that environmental claims must be more precise and based on facts.\r\n\r\nWhat does this mean in practice?\r\n