The European Union Parliament approved the directive on Wednesday will improve product labeling and ban pseudo-ecological marketing. This is to protect consumers from choosing products that they base their marketing on “eco-scheme”.
According to the new regulations, placing information on packaging will be prohibited such as “environmentally friendly”, “natural”, “biodegradable”, “climate neutral” or “ecological”unless the manufacturer has appropriate evidence for such a claim.
We will still have to wait for the effects of the proposed regulations – now the directive must be approved by the Council. Later, Member States will have 24 months to transpose it into national law.
Information about product durability also needs to be corrected
In addition to strictly ecological issues, the changes will also apply to information provided by producers about the durability of products. Among other things, it will be prohibited: unsubstantiated claims that the washing machine can perform 5,000 wash cycles when this is not true under normal, untested conditions.
Manufacturers will also not be able to use practices that suggest premature wear and the need to replace parts and components of a given device if it is not actually necessary. An example here would be information from the printer that the ink cartridges are running low.
“The directive aims to make producers and consumers focus more on the durability of products. Therefore, warranty information will be more visible in the future. There will also be a uniform marking that will better highlight products with an extended warranty period,” we read in the information about the directive.
No more “green-washing”
MEP Biljana Borzan, who is the rapporteur of this directive, points out that these provisions will affect the everyday life of EU residents.
“We will move away from the throwaway culture and make marketing more transparentand we will fight against premature aging of products. People will be able to choose things that are longer-lasting, easier to repair and more sustainable thanks to credible labels and advertising,” he says.
He adds that the regulations are also intended to limit the so-called green-washing, i.e. the increasingly popular practices of producers and entrepreneurs who “cover” their environmentally destructive activities with other activities that – in their opinion – repair or justify the harmful ones.
“Fcompanies will no longer be able to deceive people by saying that plastic bottles are good, because the company has planted trees somewhere, or claim that something is sustainable without explaining how,” Borzan assures.
