The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced today the release of a new compliance guide for fashion brands and retailers, aimed at helping the companies to comply with the regulator’s Green Claims Code when making environmental claims about their products and services.
Alongside the launch of the new guide, the CMA announced that it has sent letters to 17 “well-known fashion brands,” advising them to review their business practices. According to the CMA, the letters highlight several areas of concern regarding the companies’ green claims, including the use of broad or general terms, and whether certain products are being wrongly included in ‘eco’ ranges.
The announcements follow the launch by the CMA in 2022 of an investigation of green claims in the fashion sector, after identifying concerns about the sector as part of its broader greenwashing investigation into whether consumers are being misled by the sustainability claims in the marketing of products and services. Among the concerns raised by the CMA’s sector review were claims made by companies into the environmental sustainability of their products, such as the use of recycled material, without providing information on the basis of the claims or to which products they refer.
Among the results of the CMA investigations were formal agreements signed earlier this year with fashion retailers ASOS, Boohoo and George at Asda, securing “landmark changes” in their advertising and promotion of the environmental sustainability credentials of products, and ensuring that only clear and accurate green claims are made by the companies.
In the new letters to the fashion brands, the CMA noted that it will soon have capabilities to fine businesses up to 10% of their worldwide revenue if they break consumer law, stressing a need for the companies to ensure that their claims are accurate and not misleading to shoppers.
Key features of the new guide include advice on how fashion brands should provide clear, accurate, and complete information about their products, ensure that criteria used to include items in green collections are clearly set out and detail any minimum requirements, be clear when using filters or other navigational tools to search for green products, and be clear if green claims refer only to specific parts of a product’s lifecycle.
Hayley Fletcher, Interim Senior Director of Consumer Protection at the CMA, said:
“We’ve cautioned a number of well-known brands to take a close look at their practices, consider this guide, and make sure they’re not overstepping the mark when they promote their green credentials. All fashion companies – from designer labels to budget-friendly brands or independent boutiques – must be transparent and honest with their customers or risk enforcement action.”