The European Commission has proposed to update the EU consumer rules, aiming to obligate producers to provide information on products’ durability and reparability and ban ‘greenwashing’ practices. The proposals hope to empower consumers for ‘the green transition’, allowing consumers the opportunity to make informed and environment-friendly choices when buying products.

Fast Fashion

Durability and reparability

Under proposed changes to the Consumer Rights Directive, consumers would have the right to know how long a product is designed to last and how, if at all, it can be repaired.

Producers would be obliged to inform consumers about the guaranteed durability of products. For example, if the producer of a consumer good offers a commercial guarantee of durability of more than two years, the seller must provide this information to the consumer. For energy-using goods, The Commission explains that sellers must inform consumers when no information on a commercial guarantee of durability was provided by the producer.

Proposals also outline requirements for consumer information on product repairs and updates. The Commission suggests that the seller must provide relevant information on the repairability score (where applicable), or other relevant repair information made available by the producer, such as the availability of spare parts or a repair manual. For smart devices and digital content and services, the Commission has advised that consumers must be informed about software updates provided by the producer.

According to the Commission, producers and sellers will decide how best to provide information on durability, repairs and updates to the consumer. Information may be on packaging or in the product description online – whatever producers and sellers decide, the Commission has made it clear that the information must be provided before the purchase, in a clear and comprehensible way.

A ban on ‘greenwashing’

Proposals were also made by the European Commission to introduce ‘a ban on greenwashing and planned obsolescence’ – involving several amendments to the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). The Commission brought forward an expansion of the list of product characteristics on which a trader cannot mislead consumers. It was recommended that this list should cover the environmental or social impact of a product, as well as its durability and reparability.

Proposals also add to the range of practices considered ‘misleading’ after a case-by-case assessment, such as making an environmental claim related to future environmental performance without clear, objective and verifiable commitments and targets, and without an independent monitoring system.

The Commission also proposed the addition of new practices to the existing list of prohibited, unfair commercial practices, referred to as the ‘black list'. The proposed new practices include, among others:

1. Not informing about features introduced to limit durability, for example, software that stops or downgrades the functionality of the good after a particular period of time;
2. Making generic, vague environmental claims where the excellent environmental performance of the product or trader cannot be demonstrated. Examples of such generic environmental claims are ‘environmentally friendly', ‘eco' or ‘green', which wrongly suggest or create the impression of excellent environmental performance;
3. Making an environmental claim about the entire product, when it really concerns only a certain aspect of the product;
4. Displaying a voluntary sustainability label that was not based on a third-party verification scheme or established by public authorities;
5. Not informing that a good has limited functionality when using consumables, spare parts or accessories not provided by the original producer.

These amendments, the Commission says, ‘aim at ensuring legal certainty for traders, but also at facilitating enforcement of cases related to greenwashing and early obsolescence of products’. The changes would also ‘encourage competition towards more environmentally sustainable products, thus reducing negative impact on the environment’.

‘Strong new tools’

Commenting on the proposals, Vice-President for Values and Transparency, Věra Jourová, said: “We are supporting consumers who increasingly want to choose products that last longer and can be repaired. We must ensure that their commitment is not hampered by misleading information. We are giving them strong new tools to make informed choices and increase sustainability of the products and our economy with this proposal.”

Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, added: “If we do not start consuming more sustainably, we will not achieve our European Green Deal goals – it is as simple as that. While most consumers are willing to contribute, we have also seen an increase in ‘greenwashing' and early obsolescence practices. To become the real actors of the green transition, consumers must have a right to information to make sustainable choices. They must also be protected against unfair commercial practices which abuse their interest in buying green.”

Report calls out non-legislative tools

Last week, a new report titled ‘Licence to Greenwash’, from Changing Markets Foundation, highlighted weaknesses within fashion certification schemes, asserting that they 'enable greenwashing’. After analysing ten certification labels and industry initiatives used by fashion brands, Changing Markets Foundation measured their sustainability. Not only did the report find that no scheme was fit for purpose, but Changing Markets stated that fashion certification schemes are ‘acting as a smokescreen’ for the industry’s environmental impact.

The ‘Licence to Greenwash’ report outlines the fashion industry’s lack of regulation, with certification schemes existing in the absence of environmental legislation in an attempt to move the industry towards sustainability. However, Changing Market Foundation argues that such schemes are allowing producers to place certification labels on individual products or publicise their membership of the schemes, misleading consumers who wish to ‘put their money where their values lie’.