A number of leading European business organisations, including AIM, EuroCommerce, Eurochambres, FoodDrink Europe, Ecommerce Europe and others, have raised concerns about the manner in which the Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT) will apply to goods already placed on the market.
In a joint letter, the groups said that while they ‘fully support’ the objectives of the ECGT Directive – including its ‘efforts to fight greenwashing and provide consumers with accurate, transparent sustainability information’ – they argue that its current interpretation indicates that companies are required to ensure that all environmental claims comply with the new rules, regardless of when the products were produced or first made available.
This would mean that goods placed on the market before the Directive takes effect will need to meet the same requirements as items placed on the market after it does so.
‘This risks forcing companies to withdraw millions of goods lawfully placed on the market before the Directive’s application date, leading to considerable economic and environmental impacts, including costs and burdens regarding relabelling, providing additional information at the point of sale, repackaging, and potentially destruction of products,’ the groups state.
They add that this would ‘directly contradict the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and the operators’ efforts to be more sustainable.’
About the ECGT Directive
The ECGT Directive requires manufacturers to provide clearer information on the durability and reparability of products, as well as tackling ‘vague’ environmental claims – companies will no longer be able to declare that they are ‘green’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ without concrete proof.
European countries are required to transpose the Directive into their national law by 27 March next year, with the Directive entering into force on 27 September.
‘Grandfathering’ clause
In their letter, the groups urge the European Commission to introduce a ‘grandfathering’ clause, to enable goods already placed on the market before the Directive’s application date to continue to be marketed, without the need for further changes.
They are also calling for a ‘coordinated action plan’, in collaboration with businesses, consumer groups and other stakeholders, to ‘manage legacy stock effectively and sustainably’.
Without these steps, the groups argue that the ECGT Directive could lead to unnecessary market disruption, increase waste, reduce product availability, and discourage companies from sharing the information required by the Directive.
‘We urge the EU to address this swiftly […] in order to safeguard consumer trust, ensure legal certainty, and support the green transition without imposing disproportionate burdens on European businesses,’ they write. Read more here.
