Too good to be true? A study of green claims on plastic products
Published on July 9, 2021
This ECOS report examines types of online green claims consumers are faced with on plastic products, and explains how they could be misunderstood or even counter environmental objectives.
Green claims have become a commercial argument for an ever-growing market of ‘eco-conscious’ consumers wishing to be a part of the solution to reverse the plastic pollution crisis. A stroll to any local supermarket is enough for anyone to find a myriad of ‘green’ claims on plastic products, then often found washed up on beaches. The analysis in this report has revealed that many of those claims are irrelevant to addressing the plastic crisis or supported by weak evidence.
This report analyses the types of online green claims consumers are faced with on plastic products, and explains how they could be misunderstood or even counter environmental principles. ECOS examined green claims on diverse types of products, focusing on those most commonly littered in nature, massively increasing the social and environmental costs of plastics. Based on ECOS adaptation of the UNEP Fundamental Principles for providing product sustainability information, the report assesses the relevance, reliability, and clarity of the analysed claims.
82 products were checked against the Fundamental Principles and the ECOS Ideal Claims Checklist developed in this publication. Nearly half of the presented claims were assessed to be potentially unclear to consumers and/or irrelevant to addressing plastic pollution issues; a quarter did not pass our assessment for reliability; and three-quarters seemed to be self-made claims not evidenced to be independently verified. Companies wishing to boast about the environmental performance of products must do so by providing the consumer with full and frank information. Only this way will brands build consumer trust, enable fair comparison with competitors, and genuinely help protect the environment.
The proliferation of unclear or unchecked product sustainability information and the absence of coordinated and harmonized regulation on marketing green claims undermines sustainable choices and contributes to confusion and mistrust. The question is...
Over the past few months, the One Planet network Consumer Information Programme has organised three specific trainings to help different actors improve their communication around product sustainability claims
