Banning the use of general environmental claims like “environmentally friendly”, “natural”, “biodegradable”, “climate neutral” or “eco” without proof, Improved product labelling
Find out how your company or your shopping behaviour might change in 2 years
With the newly adopted law, the EU Parliament made the first month of the year exciting for sustainability enthusiasts. The new regulations focus on enhancing transparency and reliability in product labelling. They prohibit the use of vague environmental terms such as "environmentally friendly," "natural," "biodegradable," "climate neutral," or "eco" without proper evidence.
To address the confusion arising from various sustainability labels, the use of such labels will now be regulated. Moving forward, only sustainability labels backed by official certification schemes or established by public authorities will be permitted in the EU.
Furthermore, the directive will prohibit claims that a product has a neutral, reduced, or positive environmental impact due to emissions offsetting schemes.
This news makes me feel that we are indeed moving towards a more sustainable life. Adopting the law is the first step towards making changes, however we should never forget that law does not always guarantee fast and easy implementation - it takes time to change words into actions.
The best way to move law to practice is by editing human’s behaviours. And you may ask how? Education and raising awareness is the first step towards making informed decisions.
Even though Europe talks a lot about sustainability I feel that we still have a long journey till we truly understand the importance of it.
I believe in the power of tiny actions. Sometimes we think we can not make changes, however we can be a part of the big process if we talk more about greenwashing, the planet and people. If we talk about it with our friends, family members, colleagues, children... It is important, because as long as people don't understand the horrifying consequences of overconsumption, no amount of legislation will change that.
Product sustainability, durability, and repairability - The time has come to make it trendy and cool?
Parliament’s rapporteur Biljana Borzan (S&D, HR) said: “This law will change the everyday lives of all Europeans! We will step away from throwaway culture, make marketing more transparent and fight premature obsolescence of goods. People will be able to choose products that are more durable, repairable and sustainable thanks to reliable labels and advertisements. Most importantly, companies can no longer trick people by saying that plastic bottles are good because the company planted trees somewhere – or say that something is sustainable without explaining how. This is a big win for all of us!”
The new law aims to make sure products last longer. In the future, warranty details will be easy to find, and a new label will show which products have longer warranties.
So, if everything goes as planned, what can change in 2 years?
The companies claiming to be sustainable can only prove it through sustainability certifications.
More sustainability certification issuing companies will appear in the market, or the already existing ones will grow. Their trustworthiness will be checked and evaluated.
Companies cannot make false claims about sustainability as the processes will become more clear and transparent.
Buyers who want to purchase durable, sustainable products can differentiate products by reading/recognizing labels.
If prices are not regulated, sustainable materials and products might still stay exclusive for a certain number of consumers who have the financial ability to purchase. On the other hand, the majority of customers would still prefer to purchase cheap and therefore not durable materials.
More marketing and PR materials, trends will be created/used to educate consumers on shopping sustainably.
Would you add more to this list?
How do you contribute to big changes by small steps?