“Ecological” or “eco-responsible” product: these claims have multiplied to attract customers who are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their consumption, but a DGCCRF survey on greenwashing, published this Thursday, highlights many shortcomings.
The General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF), a department of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, conducted a major survey in 2021 and 2022 on the use of “environmental claims” as a business argument for non-food products and services.
misleading claims
Its researchers checked “on all types of media” – packaging, labels, websites, social networks or advertisements in stores – the environmental claims of “various products such as cosmetics, textiles, decoration products, toys, food packaging”, but also “services such as hotels or laundry”.
It seems that a quarter of the 1,100 establishments checked are “abnormal”. At the end of these controls, “they prepared 141 warnings, 114 injunctions and 18 criminal or administrative reports,” indicates the Repression of Fraud in a press release on Thursday.
To be considered fair, that is, not misleading, “it must be guaranteed that these claims (…) are based on the reality of the manufacturing method and are part of an ecological transition approach,” he explains.
Promises too broad…
The survey conducted revealed “a very large proportion” of so-called “globalizing” claims, which suggest a general benefit to the environment, such as “green” or “eco-responsible”. These claims “are presumed misleading for consumers if the professionals who use them cannot provide the necessary justifications,” explains the DGCCRF.
In addition, some professionals have sometimes failed to justify the mentions placed on their product, for example “a false claim about a jar of honey” promising a donation to an association “for each jar sold” when the company did not have “a single donation “.
…or too blurry
Another black spot noted by the researchers: “vague or ambiguous claims that may mislead the consumer about actual environmental impact,” for example, a “garden hose marked ‘Recycled PVC’ without specifying the actual amount of recycled material incorporated into the product”, which is mandatory.
Finally, this survey “revealed that a large number of professionals made environmental claims on the labels of biocides or cosmetics”, “while European and national regulations prohibit this type of mention for these products”, explains the DGCCRF, which says it will reinforce its checks on this issue in 2023.
Source: BFM TV
