Banning Green Claims On Products Containing Certain Substances Can Hinder Innovation And Progress In Sustainability.

A.I.S.E. has co-signed a joint industry letter to members of the European Parliament, ENVI and IMCO Committees, concerning a ban of green claims on products containing hazardous substances. The co-signing associations fully support the principle that consumers should not be misled by false or unsubstantiated sustainability claims on products and share the Commission’s vision that a harmonized set of criteria should be established at EU level so that only credible and proven green claims are allowed. 

However, we are very concerned about provisions that might restrict the ability to make green claims for products that contain hazardous substances, which we believe will run contrary to the objective of the directive on green claims substantiation to enable consumers to make informed sustainable choices.

Some of the concerns covered by the joint recommendation are the exclusion of a wide range of products, the need for policy coherence regarding existing EU chemical legislation and the fact that the unclear concepts cannot be harmoniously enforced which make them lose their purpose and may lead to fragmentation of the EU internal market.