The European Union has taken a decisive step to modernize consumer protection and strengthen the integrity of sustainability communication within the EU Single Market. With the adoption of Directive (EU) 2024/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 February 2024, the EU updates existing rules on unfair commercial practices and explicitly extends them to environmental and social claims. The directive amends Directive 2005/29/EC on unfair business-to-consumer (B2C) commercial practices and Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, introducing a more robust framework to combat misleading sustainability marketing, ambiguous certification labels, and unverified social responsibility claims.
Why this directive matters now
Sustainability has become one of the most influential decision-making criteria for consumers and businesses alike. Terms such as “eco-friendly,” “carbon-neutral,” “sustainably sourced,” “ethical,” or “socially responsible” are widely used across advertising, product packaging, and digital communication. However, the absence of standardized verification methods, inconsistent labeling systems, and unclear data references have made sustainability messaging increasingly vulnerable to greenwashing and misleading social claims.
Prior to Directive (EU) 2024/825, EU law already prohibited deceptive commercial communication, but enforcement focused mainly on traditional product attributes like price, availability, or technical specifications. The new directive significantly expands the scope by including sustainability-related product characteristics and social supply chain conditions as core criteria for evaluating misleading commercial practices. This ensures that companies cannot benefit from vague sustainability narratives unless supported by transparent, externally verifiable evidence.
Expanded definition of misleading commercial practices
The directive revises and strengthens Articles 6 and 7 of Directive 2005/29/EC, broadening the definition of what constitutes misleading information. Environmental or social claims can now be deemed deceptive if they are:
factually false or lack sufficient evidence,
based on unclear, non-recognized, or non-independent certification systems,
presented without a transparent methodology or data reference,
communicated in a way that confuses or misleads the average consumer,
lacking a fair, objective basis for comparison against other products or market standards.
This update creates a legal obligation for traders to disclose the basis, methodology, and evidence behind sustainability claims if such statements influence consumer decisions. The burden of proof shifts more clearly onto businesses, meaning companies must be able to justify claims not only internally, but through independent verification mechanisms, recognized certification schemes, or international standards where applicable.
Strengthening consumer rights through transparency
One of the directive’s pillars is product information clarity. Consumers must receive reliable, relevant, and understandable sustainability data that allows meaningful comparison between market offers. This applies to both environmental attributes and social supply chain characteristics, including—but not limited to—labor conditions, gender equality commitments, human rights compliance, ethical sourcing standards, and circular economy product features.
Companies must now ensure transparency in areas such as:
product durability and expected lifespan,
availability and accessibility of repair services,
existence of software or hardware limitations that artificially shorten product life,
recycling compatibility and environmental impact evidence,
explanation of certification labels and sustainability seals,
disclosure of whether sustainability claims apply to the entire product, a component, or a production stage.
Importantly, the directive prohibits presenting a claim that applies only to one production phase or product component as if it were representative of the product’s overall sustainability performance.
Sustainability seals: strict new rules
The directive introduces explicit safeguards for sustainability seals and labels. Traders are prohibited from using or inventing seals that:
are not backed by transparent public criteria,
lack independent third-party verification,
resemble official EU or government-endorsed labeling systems without authorization,
exaggerate or imply broader sustainability performance than the seal actually verifies.
The directive allows continued use of government-regulated seals or internationally standardized labels (e.g., ISO-aligned certification), provided the criteria remain transparent, credible, and independently validated. This prevents companies from deploying misleading badge-style marketing tactics that imitate institutional credibility without meeting regulatory standards.
Ban on vague environmental claims without evidence
A key innovation is the ban on generic environmental claims when they are not supported by proven recognized excellent environmental performance. Companies can no longer advertise products as “green,” “ecological,” or “environmentally friendly” unless they can substantiate what exactly is meant and provide verifiable environmental impact data.
Similarly, claims like “CO₂-neutral” must now be based on a transparent calculation model, clearly specifying:
whether neutrality is achieved through actual emissions reduction or offsetting,
which recognized method was used for calculation,
whether claims apply to the entire product or parts of the lifecycle,
which independent or recognized entity validated the claim.
Circular economy features become consumer rights
The directive does not only regulate marketing, but also product characteristics tied to sustainability. It strengthens consumer rights by emphasizing circular economy criteria, such as:
repairability
durability
longevity
recyclability
reuse compatibility
Any commercial practice that intentionally hides barriers to repair, software locks, limited spare-parts availability, or artificially shortened durability may now fall under unfair commercial conduct.
What this means for companies
Businesses operating in the EU must now:
audit and update sustainability and social claims in all commercial communication,
remove unverified, exaggerated, or ambiguous statements,
ensure transparency for sustainability seals and labels,
document the data basis for environmental or social claims,
introduce or rely on independent verification systems where applicable,
align advertising claims with recognized standards rather than internal narratives alone,
clearly distinguish between component-level sustainability and product-level sustainability,
strengthen compliance processes to meet the new regulatory benchmark.
Although this increases initial compliance efforts, it also rewards businesses that operate responsibly by creating a fairer competitive field where credibility becomes a market advantage.
What this means for consumers
Consumers benefit from:
clearer product sustainability information,
stronger protection against misleading environmental or social marketing,
better ability to compare products based on reliable data,
increased accountability for companies advertising sustainability attributes,
improved visibility of circular economy features, including repair and recycling rights.
Final assessment
Directive (EU) 2024/825 signals a fundamental shift in EU consumer protection law. It transforms sustainability communication from a largely self-defined marketing space into a regulated, evidence-based commercial practice domain.
In this evolving regulatory landscape, continuous monitoring, adaptation, and active compliance engagement are essential. Staying informed is no longer optional—ongoing alignment with legal updates, market requirements, and transparent sustainability communication are now key factors for responsible business activity and long-term competitiveness. As a professional stakeholder, we actively support this transformation through awareness, alignment, and constructive market participation
Source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202400825
