EU proposes rules to make it harder to exaggerate how eco-friendly a product is
The EU is looking to force manufacturers to list whether a product is repairable, and for how long parts will be available, where customers can see it. And alongside the bloc's new draft rules on repairability, there are new proposals to ban greenwashing in product marketing. So if a product says it's eco-friendly, it better be.
The EU's Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee (IMCO) has agreed to a draft report(opens in new tab) on new powers that aim to make it more difficult to sell rubbish, short-lived products that do nothing good for the environment.
Terms such as «environmentally friendly», «biodegradable», «eco», and «climate neutral» would be subject to strict rules of substantiation, meaning manufacturers can't say it unless it's actually true. The term «natural» will even come under increased scrutiny.
Perhaps the biggest change will be that, substantiated or not, carbon offsetting schemes would no longer be permitted at all. That could strip many products of their environmental claims. Not only that, if a product is said to be «made with recycled materials» it will have to be true of the whole product, not only part of it.
«This means it would no longer be possible to market a product saying it is 'made with recycled material', if only the packaging contains recycled material,» the IMCO says.
The second part of the product labelling report is aimed at repairability, and it's looking like a big win for the right to repair.
«All producers would be obliged to market only products that are designed to be compatible with consumables, spare parts or accessories (for example chargers or ink cartridges) provided also by other producers.»
That falls in line with the EU's now approved legislation to make USB
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