AIM co-signed with other 10 associations an industry statement addressed to the European Parliament on the proposed amendments establishing a ban on environmental claims on products containing hazardous substances.
AIM supports the objectives set under the Green Claims Directive to fight greenwashing and ensure that consumers are provided with trusted, relevant and transparent information on the sustainability of the product. However, the presence of hazardous substances does not automatically imply a negative impact of the substance on the environment or consumers. Such a broad ban would cover a wide range of sectors, preventing environmental claims on products that contribute to more sustainable consumption, through longer product lifetime, product effectiveness, or resource and energy efficiency. Ultimately, this will lead to unintended consequences, preventing consumers from being informed about the sustainability of the products and discouraging traders from innovating to improve the sustainability profile of their products.
We thus recommend EU policymakers to reject all provisions that presume a direct incompatibility between the presence of hazardous substances and environmental claims.
