Zalando reprimanded by EU regulator: will misleading sustainability claims soon be a thing of the past?
Primark Netherlands was recently reprimanded for greenwashing. Prior to this, retail chains H&M and Decathlon were also reprimanded by the Dutch regulator ACM for unclear and vague green claims.
The Advertising Code Committee ruled in 2023 that certain advertising statements from Primark Netherlands clothing were misleading after a complaint from fashion professional Sara Dubbeldam, and earlier this year the appeal judge drew the same conclusion.
Now the European Consumer Authority has taken web giant Zalando to task for misleading sustainability claims, it was announced a few days ago. In this light, FashionUnited asks Judith Bussé, a lawyer specialized in ESG law and owner of the Brussels office Pivot Law, four questions about greenwashing and emerging legislation and regulations regarding sustainability.
Zalando has been approached by the European Consumer Authority, under the coordination of the European Commission and with the involvement of national consumer authorities. This is part of a broader effort to protect consumers from misleading information, particularly around sustainability, in line with EU rules on fair trading practices. Zalando has committed to providing clear consumer information and removing misleading sustainability labels and icons from the webshop .
This text was written using an artificial intelligence tool and then edited.
1. Will vague and unsubstantiated sustainability claims soon come to an end now that more and more clothing companies are being reprimanded for pretending to be greener than they are?
Bussé: “Unfortunately, that end is not yet in sight, but stricter enforcement of the existing rules on misleading information is a step in the right direction. The fact that large companies are being reprimanded by both national and European authorities (the European Commission and the so-called “Consumer Protection Network”) indicates that consumer authorities are monitoring this subject increasingly seriously.”
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