Green claims: confusion surrounds the EU’s anti-greenwashing directive

The EU’s ‘Green Claim’ directive is designed to regulate the sustainability claims made by brands and combat greenwashing. But as the parliamentary debate under way since January was about to end, the European Commission has withdrawn its support for the text. Before specifying its position.

After U-turns on the duty of vigilance directive and later on the need to display the environmental score on apparel products, the EU’s tendency to back down on its green deal has once again been confirmed. This time, it all started on June 18, with a request from the European People’s Party (EPP) to drop the so-called ‘Green Claim’ directive.

The directive originally targeted vague marketing expressions such as ‘green product’, ‘biodegradable’, ‘climate-neutral’ and ‘100% natural’, aiming to force brands to demonstrate the veracity of their sustainability claims. The European Council stated its position on it a year ago, and its approval was eagerly awaited by brands, NGOs and industry associations, including European textile industry association Euratex.

On Friday June 20, it came as a surprise when a European Commission representative confirmed, following the EPP’s request, its “intention to withdraw its proposals” for defining the terms associated with sustainability. It was enough to stop short the debate on the directive, which had begun in 2023, despite the fact that a final meeting was scheduled for June 23 between the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament.

A few hours later, the EU Commission clarified its position, saying it is still willing to push forward the directive, but not if it incorporates provisions for micro-companies, as was the case in the text’s last draft. There are 30 million such companies active in Europe.

This back and forth is consistent with the simplification drive the European Commission has been pushing since January. A politically motivated drive that notably led to a first package of comprehensive measures being presented in March. Measures which included a watering down of the duty of vigilance directive, and which have enraged NGOs while also not convincing companies and retailers.