BRUSSELS — The European Union spent years building a two-part system to protect consumers from greenwashing. Only half of it survived.
In 2024 Brussels came up with a rule that prevents companies from misleading consumers with unfounded claims that their products and services are good for the planet.
From Sept. 27, companies won’t be able to sell products with vague, generic claims such as “green,” “eco-friendly” or “climate neutral” anymore. Airlines will no longer be able to advertise a carbon neutral flight, for example, and a cosmetics company mustn’t claim its sunscreen won’t damage coral reefs, unless it has evidence to back it up.
Known as the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, the law — the first in the EU’s two-pronged clampdown on unfounded green claims — also brings environmental labels under tighter scrutiny.
