(28 January 2021) – Today, the European Commission and national consumer authorities released the results of a screening of websites which focused this year on ‘greenwashing’.
Screening of websites (“sweep”) is carried out each year to identify possible breaches of EU consumer law in online markets.
This year, for the first time ever, the sweep focused on ‘greenwashing’, the practice by which companies claim they are doing more for the environment than they actually are.
The “sweep” analysed green online claims from various business sectors such as garments, cosmetics and household equipment.
National consumer protection authorities had reason to believe that in 42% of cases the claims were exaggerated, false or deceptive and could potentially qualify as unfair commercial practices under EU rules.