Time to tailor up: Fashion businesses on warning with CMA’s new Compliance Guide for Green Claims | Insights | Mayer Brown

Do ….

Don’t ….

1. Ensure that all Green Claims are clear and accurate, including important information prominently displayed in this manner and having regard to the overall presentation of any claims.
2. Ensure that any criteria for product ranges are clear and available (e.g. include minimum thresholds that are part of the criteria), ranges should be named accurately, and criteria applied correctly to products.
3. Ensure that any criteria for product ranges are clear and available (e.g. include minimum thresholds that are part of the criteria), ranges should be named accurately, and criteria applied correctly to products.
4. Make sure that any comparisons are clear, e.g., between competing products and businesses, or between different versions of a similar product.
5. Explain clearly any action a consumer needs to take, e.g., if you make a claim which is only true if the consumer takes certain action, that action needs to be clearly stated.
6. Make sure that any navigational tools or filters are clear and only return qualifying products, e.g. ensuring the filters refer to specific characteristics such as ‘50%+ recycled’ instead of ‘sustainable’.
7. Make sure your suppliers can back up claims.
8. Put in place internal processes to make sure all environmental claims are accurate and do not mislead customer.
9. Ensure environmental targets are presented clearly, including at least what the target is aiming to achieve, the date on which the target is expected to be met, and the main ways by which you intend to achieve the target.
10. Make it clear if a claim is based on specific parts of a product’s life cycle.
11. Describe fabrics clearly and precisely, e.g. including the composition of the fabric and what the percentage make up is.
12. Provide supporting information regarding any affiliations and accreditations, including summary of associated environmental benefits, your connection to the organisation (if any), link to further information, and link to the provider/ scheme’s website.

1. Hide important information, such as qualifying or other important information that is needed to ensure a claim is not misleading. Examples of hidden information include: placing information away from the claim itself – e.g. the other side of a tag; through a hyperlink or scan of a QR code; or expanding a drop down list.
   
2. Make a claim if there is not enough space for the necessary important information, where the claim could be misleading without it.
3. Use unclear terms, such as broader, general or absolute claims – like ‘green’, ‘sustainable’ or ‘eco-friendly’ which are much more likely to be inaccurate and to mislead customers.
4. Use imagery and icons in a way which could lead consumers to believe a product is more green than it is.
5. Refer to affiliations and accreditations in a way that could mislead customers, e.g. referring to an accreditation relating to product characteristics in respect of an individual product that does not have those characteristics.
   
6. Rely entirely on third parties, because retailers are ultimately responsible for any claims made relating to third-party products they sell and need to satisfy themselves that such claims are not misleading. Adequate supply chain due-diligence is therefore of key importance.