The eu banned greenwashing: what does this mean for fashion?

By Juliana Molina

2 / 9 / 2023

This month, the European Parliament passed a new law which, by the year 2026, will ban the use of greenwashing terms in advertising for all industries which operate within the EU. The law aims to make advertising clearer for consumers by cutting out confusing and misleading language of sustainability claims which can’t be substantiated by evidence. Phrases like clean, natural, eco-friendly, sustainable, green, and other similar verbiage are all included as misleading sustainability language. Additionally, language suggesting that a product is “carbon-neutral,” implying that it somehow is good for the environment or that its production has no effect, will no longer be allowed. This is to make sure that consumers are not confused or tricked into believing that the products they buy have a positive impact on the environment. It’s argued that the law will allow consumers to make more informed decisions about their purchases, and that it will shift focus to more substantial action against environmental degradation. Amidst this new advertising limit, what does this mean for the fashion industry?

Likely, it means that many brands will have to restructure marketing around their sustainability lines to still suggest an air of “green” without explicitly saying so. Not an uncommon practice now, using imagery like trees, nature, and neutral colored clothes will likely still be used to signal “eco-friendliness” to consumers. How far they’ll be able to go is unclear, as well as how severe penalties will be. Does a billion-dollar corporation care about fines if they aren’t extremely large? Will there be enough staff dedicated to monitoring all advertising in the EU to ensure adherence to the law? Only time will tell how effective the law will be at combating greenwashing. 

Unfortunately, while this law affects marketing, it can’t change the way that brands produce their clothing. They will still produce the same amount of clothing with the same practices, they just may not be able to lie about the harmfulness of those practices as easily. Despite this win, a lack of lying still doesn’t equal transparency, and many people still don’t understand what goes into making their clothes. However, another recent EU law prohibiting the destruction of unused clothing (i.e. slashing unsold bags or burning unsold garments) helps push towards more sustainable practices. Having to keep unused clothing as part of the supply chain can help lead us closer to a circular clothing economy where we waste less. 

Going forward, it’ll be interesting to see if this law will have a large impact on the way fashion brands operate. While not perfect, it is still a good step in the right direction towards a more responsible industry, and maybe it’ll even inspire more countries to enact similar regulations on advertising.