The Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) has published a practical guide for fashion businesses on how to ensure that they comply with consumer law when making claims about how eco-friendly and sustainable their products are.

The guide follows previous work by the CMA in this area, including a broad review of environmental claims in the fashion retail sector, the securing of undertakings from a number of well-known brands following an investigation into claims about their products’ eco-friendliness, and the publication of an open letter about misleading environmental claims (on which we commented here).

The latest guide builds on this work, and in particular upon the CMA’s Green Claims Code, first published in 2021. It aims to provide practical advice to fashion businesses to help them “comply with the principles of the Code and with the consumer protection law which underpins it, to ensure that consumers are not misled and to help create a fair environment for businesses in this sector.”

As the document explains, it is relevant for all businesses which make environmental claims about clothing, footwear, fashion accessories, and related services. Furthermore, whilst its focus is principally on retailers, the CMA states that it will also be relevant to manufacturers and distributors.

The guide includes a number of key recommendations alongside practical examples, some of which are set out below:

• Environmental claims should be “clear and accurate”;
• Important information that consumers might need to ensure that a claim is not misleading should be easily accessible and not hidden behind a QR code or displayed separately from the environmental claim being made;
• Broad and non-specific terms such as ‘green’, ‘sustainable’, or ‘eco-friendly’ should be avoided as they are much more likely to be inaccurate and mislead consumers;
• Imagery and icons (for example of a leaf or the planet) should not be used in a way that gives a misleading impression of the product’s impact on the environment;
• Any comparisons made between the sustainability or green credentials of a product and that of a competitor should be summarised clearly and prominently;
• If claims are made which are only true if a consumer has to take a particular action (it provides the example of a product lasting longer because the sleeves have a hidden hem that can be unpicked to make them longer) that should be clearly stated unless it is clear from the context;
• If a range is described as being more friendly to the environment, care should be taken to ensure that, for example, the criteria for the entire range are explained, consumers are not misled by the name of the range, and the marketing is not misleading;
• Make sure that fabrics are described clearly, precisely, and objectively. For example, rather than employing ambiguous descriptors like ‘environmentally-conscious’ or ‘responsible’, words that describe the objective properties of the fabric should be used, such as ‘recycled polyester’ or ‘organic cotton’;
• Provide further details about any affiliations or accreditations cited to support any environmental claims;
• Only make environmental claims that are based on, or are made in reference to, corporate targets if there is a clear and verifiably strategy in place to meet those targets. Do not use environmental claims that “create a misleading impression about the impact of your fashion retail business as a whole on the environment”;
• Make sure that suppliers can back up claims with evidence such as ‘final scope’ and ‘final transaction’ certificates.

To read the guidance in full, click here.