Unsubstantiated ‘green’ claims cost two apparel groups almost €1 million
Clothing groups Decathlon and H&M have agreed to make donations totalling almost €1 million to sustainable causes and have committed to making their claims around the sustainability of their products clearer following an investigation in the Netherlands.
The organisation in the Netherlands that has responsibility for making sure companies treat consumers fairly, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), has received commitments from both groups that they will take greater care in future over what they tell consumers about their products “to minimise the risk of misleading practices involving sustainability claims”.
In addition, they will make donations to sustainable causes “to compensate for their use of unclear and insufficiently substantiated sustainability claims”. Decathlon will contribute €400,000 and H&M €500,000.
ACM said that, as a result of reaching these agreements with the two companies it will not impose any sanctions on them.
A board-member at ACM, Cateautje Hijmans, said she was pleased H&M and Decathlon had acknowledged that they should have informed consumers more clearly about the sustainability aspects of their products. She said they would “adjust various sustainability claims” and do a better job of substantiating them in future.
Ms Hijmans added: “Consumers who wish to make sustainable choices must be able to have confidence in the veracity of the claims that businesses make on their products or websites.”
ACM’s investigation began in 2021. It critcised the companies’ use of terms such as ‘eco-design’ and ‘conscious’ because, according to the Dutch organisation, consumers ought to have had immediate access to information specifying clearly what the sustainability benefits were of products bearing these descriptions. This clarity was lacking.
It said it will make sure H&M and Decathlon stick to the commitments they have made.
Image: H&M.
