{"id":4533,"date":"2024-04-17T10:22:53","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T07:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/?p=4533"},"modified":"2025-06-12T12:50:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T09:50:41","slug":"eus-new-directive-greenwashing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/eus-new-directive-greenwashing\/","title":{"rendered":"EU&#8217;s New Directive: Empowering Consumers against Greenwashing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">On March 26th, 2024, the European Union, in its effort to empower consumers for a greener transition, implemented <a href=\"https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/TXT\/PDF\/?uri=OJ:L_202400825\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Directive (EU) 2024\/825<\/a>, also known as the Empowering Consumers Directive (ECD). This directive aims at fostering sustainable consumption patterns and tackles various misleading commercial practices, like greenwashing<strong>, <\/strong>that hinder consumers&#8217; ability to make informed choices regarding the environmental and social impact of products. With its focus on transparency, reliability, and consumer protection, the ECD marks an important moment in EU&#8217;s commitment to sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/eus-new-directive-greenwashing\/#Scope_of_the_Directive_EU_2024825\" >Scope of the Directive (EU) 2024\/825<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/eus-new-directive-greenwashing\/#Prohibiting_Misleading_Claims\" >Prohibiting Misleading Claims<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/eus-new-directive-greenwashing\/#Preventing_Greenwashing_and_Ensuring_Environmental_Accountability\" >Preventing Greenwashing and Ensuring Environmental Accountability<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/eus-new-directive-greenwashing\/#Enhancing_Consumer_Awareness_and_Rights\" >Enhancing Consumer Awareness and Rights<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/eus-new-directive-greenwashing\/#Implementing_a_Certification_System\" >Implementing a Certification System<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/eus-new-directive-greenwashing\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Scope_of_the_Directive_EU_2024825\"><\/span><strong>Scope of the Directive (EU) 2024\/825<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One of the key elements of the ECD is to ensure that consumers have access to<strong> clear and relevant information that enables them to make sustainable purchasing decisions.<\/strong> The directive targets practices such as <strong>misleading environmental claims<\/strong>, and <strong>non-transparent sustainability labels<\/strong>, by amending the provisions of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) and the Consumer Rights Directive (CRD) accordingly. With the introduction of specific rules in consumer law, the ECD aims to empower national bodies to effectively address these practices, and, at the same time, safeguard consumers&#8217; interest in sustainable products.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">ECD is set to be transposed into the law of all EU-Member States by <strong>March 27, 2026,<\/strong> and applied from <strong>September 27, 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Prohibiting_Misleading_Claims\"><\/span><strong>Prohibiting Misleading Claims <\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The prohibition of misleading practices related to a product&#8217;s environmental or social characteristics, is one of the Directive\u2019s focus subjects. This includes ensuring that consumers are not misled about aspects of a product such as <strong>durability<\/strong>, <strong>reparability<\/strong>, or <strong>recyclability<\/strong> through the overall presentation of it on the shelf. Additionally, the directive addresses misleading advertising, <strong>prohibiting claims that are irrelevant or not directly related to the product&#8217;s features<\/strong>, such as labeling bottled water as \u201cgluten-free\u201d or promoting paper sheets as \u201cfree from plastic\u201d.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Preventing_Greenwashing_and_Ensuring_Environmental_Accountability\"><\/span><strong>Preventing Greenwashing and Ensuring Environmental Accountability<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Furthermore, the directive addresses the deceptive practice of making environmental claims that are not representative of the entire product or business. By prohibiting claims that exaggerate the environmental benefits or impact of a product or business, ECD aims to <strong>prevent greenwashing<\/strong> and promote <strong>truthful and accurate information<\/strong> <strong>for consumers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This directive also <strong>prohibits<\/strong> <strong>claims based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions<\/strong>, emphasizing the need for genuine efforts to reduce environmental impact rather than relying solely on offsetting measures. By tackling misleading claims of environmental neutrality or positivity, the directive promotes taking greater accountability and responsibility in environmental messaging.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-4518\" src=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/greenwashing-green-washing-machine-e1713338604313.png\" alt=\"greenwashing - green washing machine\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" \/><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Enhancing_Consumer_Awareness_and_Rights\"><\/span><strong>Enhancing Consumer Awareness and Rights<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">ECD also introduces changes in the provided information of a product, before its purchase, ensuring that consumers receive clear information about its durability and potential repair options, before buying it. The aforementioned includes details about a product\u2019s <strong>warranty<\/strong>, any provided <strong>repair services<\/strong> and <strong>eco-friendly delivery choices<\/strong>, without any extra charges to the consumer. Lastly, to help consumers know their rights, the directive requires <strong>easy-to-understand labels<\/strong> and notices about guarantees.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Implementing_a_Certification_System\"><\/span><strong>Implementing a Certification System<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Moreover, ECD emphasizes the importance of credible <strong>sustainability labels established by public authorities<\/strong>. By prohibiting the use of sustainability labels not based on certification schemes or public authorities&#8217; standards, the directive aims at <strong>enhancing consumer trust<\/strong> in environmental claims by producers. Examples of such recognized labels include those awarded in compliance with <a href=\"https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/LexUriServ\/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:342:0001:0045:en:PDF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">EU Regulations (EC) 1221\/2009<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/ALL\/?uri=celex%3A32010R0066\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">(EC) 66\/2010<\/a>, ensuring consistency and reliability in sustainability labels across Europe.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Directive (EU) 2024\/825 marks a significant step in EU&#8217;s efforts of empowering consumers to make more well-informed and conscious decisions. By addressing misleading commercial practices and promoting transparency and reliability in environmental claims and sustainability labels, the directive enables consumers to make informed choices and encourage sustainable purchasing decisions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">To learn more about the legislation concerning your packaging, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/contact-us\/\">reach out<\/a> to our team of experts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On March 26th, 2024, the European Union, in its effort to empower consumers for a greener transition, implemented Directive (EU) 2024\/825, also known as the Empowering Consumers Directive (ECD). This directive aims at fostering sustainable consumption patterns and tackles various misleading commercial practices, like greenwashing, that hinder consumers&#8217; ability to make informed choices regarding the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4519,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,545,540],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-packaging-legislation-en","category-regulations-policy-en","category-28","category-545","category-540","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4533"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9496,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4533\/revisions\/9496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.packlab.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}