The Council of Ministers has approved a legislative decree implementing EU Directive 2024/825 on 'Consumer Empowerment for the Green Transition'.This does not concern the specific Green Claims Directive, which should regulate the verification and validation methods of environmental declarations used by companies: this measure is currently stalled at the European Commission.
The legislative decree recently approved by the Council of Ministers strengthens protections and tools against unfair commercial practices related to the environmental and social sustainability of products, so-called misleading 'green claims' , and introduces new methods of providing clear and verifiable information for the benefit of consumers.
In detail, the decree expands the list of prohibited commercial practices , updating the Consumer Code.
Generic or misleading environmental claims, such as the presentation of 'neutral' or 'zero impact' products, will be considered incorrect and sanctioned when such claims are not reliable, comparable and verifiable.
The goal is to strengthen consumer protection and protect the most vulnerable production sectors, such as fashion and textiles, where accurate environmental communication is essential to inform consumers, defend Made in Italy products, and combat unfair practices that penalize virtuous producers.
The measure introduces specific definitions of environmental claims, sustainability labels, durability, and the reparability of goods , to make communication on environmental characteristics more transparent and verifiable and allow consumers to clearly recognize truly sustainable products.
Finally, new rules for transparency in consumer information are envisaged, including for contracts concluded online, with the introduction of a harmonized notice on the legal guarantee and a harmonized label that make the durability of products immediately recognizable.
Failure to comply with the new provisions will be monitored by the Italian Competition Authority (Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato) , which may apply the sanctions established for unfair commercial practices. (Source: https://www.mimit.gov.it/ )