The European Commission has proposed new rules under which manufacturers who put eco-labels on their products will have to provide evidence to justify those labels. The proposed new rules aim to prevent the practice of manipulative green marketing and misleading claims.

"We find environmental claims everywhere: T-shirts that are not harmful to the ocean, carbon-neutral bananas, juices that do not harm bees, shipping with 100 percent compensation for CO2 emissions, etc. any evidence or justification," Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans said.

Timmermans adds that such a practice puts companies that produce truly sustainable products at a disadvantage. Consequence of the absence of common rules “Many Europeans want to contribute to a more sustainable world with their purchases, and therefore it is important to trust the claims. With this proposal, we give consumers more confidence that something marketed as 'green' really is 'green,'” added Timmermans.

Under the proposal for the directive, which must be approved by the EU Council and the European Parliament, companies that put eco-labels on their products and services will have to back up these claims with scientific evidence and will need to be able to be independently verified. Such claims will need to be verified by an authorized verification body before being placed on products.

A survey carried out by the Commission in 2020 found that 53,3 percent of EU environmental acceptability claims examined were unclear, wrong or unsubstantiated, and 40 percent were unsubstantiated, Hina reports.