With the recent AGEC law in France, environmental claims are under the spotlight. But France is not the only country to be interested in this subject. All over the world, regulations are underway, often with disparities from one country to another in the way they are understood and governed. During the International Meeting held on March 25, 2021, Catherine Apolinario, Cosmed’s International Regulatory Affairs Officer, proposed a world tour of environmental claims and the regulatory obligations that govern them.
When we talk about environmental claims, we must first understand that they include mentions, logos, sorting instructions, the presentation of the product and/or the company…
Today, more and more countries are putting in place rules to reduce the environmental impact of products and services or to reduce the amount of waste they generate.
And we are still largely at the stage of “one country, one regulation”, which makes it more complex to manage their implications for exporting companies.
Operation “Sweep”
A European Commission study, Operation “Sweep”, is carried out every year to check that websites comply with consumer protection directives. In 2020, the focus was on all aspects of environmental claims, including greenwashing. This study is multisectoral but cosmetics are well represented (17%).
Out of the 344 claims that appeared dubious:
• More than 50% did not contain sufficient information to allow consumers to judge the accuracy of the claim
• 37% were too vague or general
• 59% were presented without readily available evidence to support them
In 42% of cases, the claims were found to be exaggerated, false or misleading.
The regulatory framework for environmental claims
Although they are not yet very much involved in specific regulations, environmental …
