Europe’s top online fashion retailer, Zalando SE [ZAL:GR], has agreed to remove sustainability-related flags and icons (such as a leaf or a tree) displayed next to products on its website, which may lead consumers to assume a product is more sustainable than it actually is, as reported by Bloomberg on February 22. The move put an end to a two-year investigation, carried out by the European Commission and European national consumer authorities, into the company’s misleading green claims. The Commission cautioned that undocumented green claims “can mislead consumers about the environmental characteristics of the products.” In response, Zalando vowed to refrain from using the term “sustainability” or other phrases that indicate environmental or ethical benefit without justification. Moreover, it pledged to provide clear information about products’ sustainability benefits, such as the percentage of recycled materials used, on product detail pages.

EU lawmakers have stepped up actions against greenwashing behaviors including misleading, exaggerated, or unsubstantiated environmental claims. In January, the European Parliament approved a directive to improve product labeling and ban the use of misleading environmental claims. The new directive limits the use of sustainability labels to those based on official certification schemes or established by public authorities, prohibiting the use of general environmental claims like “environmentally friendly”, “natural”, or “climate neutral” without proof. Furthermore, on February 20, the European Council adopted a directive that amended the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) and the Consumer Rights Directive (CRD). The directive aims to improve consumers’ access to the environmental characteristics of products and help them make informed purchasing decisions, thus contributing to more sustainable consumption.

Sources:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-22/zalando-agrees-with-eu-to-halt-its-misleading-green-claims

Zalando to Remove Misleading Product Sustainability Claims in Deal with EU Commission

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_948

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240112IPR16772/meps-adopt-new-law-banning-greenwashing-and-misleading-product-information

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/02/20/consumer-rights-final-approval-for-the-directive-to-empower-consumers-for-the-green-transition/#:~:text=The%20Council%20has%20today%20adopted,transition%20and%20the%20circular%20economy.