Trade Advice Document

This guidance is for England, Scotland and Wales

Consumers are becoming more aware of the impact that products and services can have on the environment and their buying decisions are increasingly influenced by 'environmental' or 'green' claims made by traders.

There are laws in place designed to protect the consumer from misleading environmental claims made by a manufacturer, importer or retailer. Guidance is available from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on the use of green claims and an international standard, which states that green claims should not be vague or ambiguous.

The Advertising Standards Authority also has codes in relation to advertisements, which in general are required to be legal, decent, honest and truthful.

WHAT DOES 'GREEN' MEAN?

Many consumers who are concerned about buying products and services that may harm the environment want to make informed choices about the products and services they buy, seeking out those with a lower impact on the environment.

Manufacturers and retailers are tapping into and often driving consumer demand for 'environmentally friendly' products and services by making statements on packaging and labelling and through marketing and advertising designed to raise awareness of those products and services and their environmental qualities. There are also sound business reasons for a manufacturer and retailer to take this approach as it enhances their 'green' credentials and demonstrates a responsible approach to trading.

Environmental claims can take many forms and include specific symbols - for example, those that mean a product has been certified as organic, claims about recyclability and claims about energy efficiency.

In order for a consumer to make informed choices the trader must provide clear, truthful and accurate information about the environmental claims they have made, which must be capable of being substantiated.

A trader should not make vague, ambiguous or unqualified claims, nor should they mislead consumers - for example, implying that a product can be recycled when only part of it can be. Advertised environmental claims should be based on the full life-cycle of the product unless it is made absolutely clear, as part of the advertising, what the limitations of the claim are. If product comparisons are made, the basis of the comparison must be stated clearly and supported with solid evidence. A trader's marketing must not mislead consumers about environmental benefits, such as stating that their product does not contain an environmentally damaging ingredient when the same ingredient is not usually present in competing products.

A trader must not claim that they or the product or service, are endorsed by an environmental organisation or official body when they are not.

Sometimes the overall presentation of the product or service - the words, images and style of packaging - can mislead consumers if they are not relevant, accurate or truthful.

The 'Green claims code for shoppers' page on the GOV.UK website is designed to help you to recognize genuine environmental claims made by traders about products and services.

GREEN LABELS

These can provide a useful and recognisable indication for consumers that a product or service is making a specific environmental claim. There are many different labels and some are given below.

RECYCLING

The 'Mobius loop' is an internationally recognised symbol that means that the product (or some of the product) contains recycled material or is capable of being recycled. Check that the manufacturer has included an explanatory statement alongside the symbol. Local authorities can give advice to consumers about recycling facilities in their area.

Recycling 'Mobius loop'

Look out for on-pack recycling labels such as the ones below that give you information on whether you can recycle the packaging locally or not.

'Widely recycled' label

'Widely recycled'. Collected at kerbside in at least 75% of local authorities.

'Check local recycling' label

'Check local recycling'. 20% to 75% of local authorities collect the material at the kerbside.

Dispose of glass bottles and jars in a bottle bank or use your local authority's recycling collection service.

ENERGY INFORMATION

The Energy Information Regulations 2011 require certain household electrical products such as dishwashers, fridges, freezers, ovens, televisions, tumble dryers and washing machines to be supplied with clear and consistent information on their energy usage to allow you to make an informed decision before you make a purchase.

All products that the regulations apply to must:

be supplied with an energy label
display an energy label at the point of purchase, such as instore or on a website. It should be visible and attached to the product where possible
be supplied with a product performance information sheet
refer to the energy efficiency class in visual advertisements
have back-up technical documentation

From 1 March 2021, the energy labels on specific products have been 're-scaled' so instead of displaying energy ratings of A+++-G, they now display A-G.

These products are:

TV's and electronic displays
dishwashers
washer dryers
washing machines
refrigerators and freezers
wine storage refrigerators

You can find out more information on the Label2020 website.

CAR ENERGY LABELLING

The Passenger Car (Fuel Consumption and CO₂ Emissions Information) Regulations 2001 state that car dealers must clearly display a fuel economy label on or near each new passenger car on display for sale or lease and for the model to which that car belongs. It is an offence for a dealer not to display this information. The label provides information about CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption and allows the consumer to make an informed decision about a particular car.

An amendment to the law means that it now applies to electric vehicles, electric plug-in hybrid vehicles and bi-fuelled vehicles. Dealers are also required to provide a copy of a 'fuel economy guide' to the consumer on request and display a poster setting out the fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions for every model of the particular make of car that is on display for sale or lease.

TYRE LABELLING

Regulations on the labelling of tyres provide vehicle users with clear information to allow them to choose tyres that are fuel efficient, have better wet braking and are less noisy. The label ranks tyres on a scale from A (highest performing) to E (lowest performing).

GREEN CLAIMS

The general environmental benefits of a product or service should not be supported by vague, non-specific claims such as 'environmentally friendly', 'green' or 'ozone friendly'.

ORGANIC

Claims about a product being 'organic' can only be made if that product complies with legislation for organic products or production.

REUSABLE AND REFILLABLE

should only be used if the packaging for the product can easily be reused or refilled with the same or a similar product.

DEGRADEABLE

This means that the product is designed to break down in certain conditions and within a certain timescale.

WHAT THE LAW SAYS

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 prohibit commercial practices that are unfair to consumers. If a trader misleads you or engages in an aggressive commercial practice and you make a decision to purchase goods or services that you would not otherwise have done, the trader may be in breach of the Regulations. There are 31 specific banned commercial practices set out in the Regulations, some of which are detailed below:

claiming to be a signatory of a code of conduct when the trader is not
displaying a trust mark, quality mark or equivalent without authorisation
falsely claiming that a trader (including their commercial practices) or a product has been approved, endorsed or authorised by a public or private body without complying with the terms of the approval, endorsement or authorisation

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out what you are entitled to expect from goods supplied by a trader. These are commonly referred to as your 'statutory rights'. The law states, amongst other things, that goods supplied must be 'as described', if you saw or examined a sample of the goods then they must match the sample and if you saw or examined a model of the goods then they must match the model. An environmental claim must be accurate and capable of being substantiated. Public statements made by manufacturers, importers or producers about specific characteristics of the goods - for example, environmental claims in marketing and advertising - must be accurate and can be taken into account when deciding if goods are satisfactory. The 'Sale and supply of goods: your consumer rights' guide gives more information.

Under the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2015 the volume and weight of the packaging must be the minimum amount to maintain necessary levels of safety, hygiene and acceptance for the packed product and for the consumer. Packaging must be manufactured to allow for re-use or recovery in accordance with certain requirements. These Regulations also control the amount of dangerous materials and substances allowed in packaging with regards to their emissions, ash or leachate when incinerated or put in landfill.

The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information Regulations 2021 introduce a 'right to repair' covering dishwashers, washing machines, washer-dryers, refrigerators and dishwashers. Manufacturers, authorised representatives or importers must make spare parts available to professional repairers, some of which should also be available to end-users, within two years of the product going on sale, for a minimum period of between seven and 10 years (depending on the type of product) after it has been discontinued. They must publish a list of the spare parts that are available to end-users, the procedure for ordering them and the repair instructions on a public website free or charge. Spare parts must be capable of being replaced with commonly available tools and without causing permanent damage to the product.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK A CLAIM IS MISLEADING

If you enter into a contract because a trader misled you or because the trader used an aggressive commercial practice, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 give you rights to redress: the right to unwind the contract, the right to a discount and the right to damages. The 'Misleading and aggressive practices: rights to redress' guide gives more information.

Trading standards services enforce a wide range of legislation relating to environmental and misleading claims. They ensure that traders comply with the requirements of the Regulations and can take action when they do not comply. If you have been misled by claims made by a trader, contact the Citizens Advice consumer service for referral to trading standards.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent regulator of all media advertising in the UK. It can act on complaints and monitors the media for advertising that may be misleading. The ASA judges complaints about misleading environmental claims against the relevant code of advertising practice. If you have been misled by claims made by a trader in an advertisement, you can complain to the ASA.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The guidance page of the GOV.UK website helps traders to comply with the law when making environmental claims about goods and services.

USEFUL CONTACTS

Advertising Standards Authority
Castle House, 37-45 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4LS
Tel: 020 7492 2222

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF
Tel: 03459 33 55 77

Last reviewed / updated: November 2022

Key legislation

Please note

This information is intended for guidance; only the courts can give an authoritative interpretation of the law.

The guide's 'Key legislation' links may only show the original version of the legislation, although some amending legislation is linked to separately where it is directly related to the content of a guide. Information on amendments to legislation can be found on each link's 'More Resources' tab.

For further information in England and Wales contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 2231133. In Scotland contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000. Both provide free, confidential and impartial advice on consumer issues.