EU green claims: what is banned, and since when

What is the ECGT directive?

Directive (EU) 2024/825, known as ECGT or EmpCo, applies from 27 September 2026 and targets misleading environmental claims. It does not create a new regime: it adds ten practices to Annex I of Directive 2005/29/EC.

That distinction matters more than it sounds. Annex I is the blacklist of practices deemed unfair in all circumstances. No case-by-case assessment applies, and no proof of an effect on the average consumer is required. A practice is either on the list or it is not.

Which wordings become unlawful?

Ten practices are added. Three concern environmental claims, seven concern durability and repairability. The last seven are widely overlooked, although they target phrasing that is extremely common on product pages.

The three environmental grounds

"Making a generic environmental claim for which the trader is not able to demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim." Annex I, point 4a, Directive (EU) 2024/825.

The seven durability grounds, usually missed

These are not greenwashing but misrepresentation of product life. They target unbacked "lifetime guarantee" promises, "repairable" claims on products that are not, inducing customers to replace consumables earlier than technically necessary, and falsely claiming that non-original parts will impair performance. The points run from 23d to 23j.

Careful with the numbering

English and German versions of Annex I use letters. The French version uses Latin numbering, and the offset is not letter-for-rank: English point 23g maps to 23 octies, not to 23 septies. A citation off by one rank points to a provision that says something else.

Does this apply to a shop outside the EU?

Yes. The test is the market you address, not where you are established. A shop selling to consumers in the European Union is subject to EU consumer law, whether it operates from London, New York or Sydney.

What if I sell into France?

You are already exposed, since 1 January 2023. Two French statutes apply regardless of the European deadline.

What if I sell into Germany?

Germany carries the most immediate risk, because enforcement is adversarial rather than administrative. Competitors and associations can send paid cease-and-desist letters, known as Abmahnungen, without waiting for an authority to act.

The Federal Court of Justice ruled on 27 June 2024 in case I ZR 98/23, known as Katjes. Advertising that uses environmental protection terms is held to strict requirements of accuracy, clarity and unambiguity, at the same level as health-related advertising.

The meaning given to the term must be explained within the advertisement itself. A link to the website is not sufficient, including where the medium is space-constrained. BGH, 27 June 2024, I ZR 98/23, GRUR 2024, 1122.

This matches the European "same medium" test exactly. German courts were already enforcing in 2024 what the directive imposes in 2026.

How many shops are affected?

Of twelve European shops analysed on 27 July 2026, eight carried at least one claim worth reviewing, with a median of five distinct wordings per shop.

One methodological caveat, because it changes how to read that number: the sample was deliberately built from brands that communicate on sustainability. It shows the affected population exists and is dense, not that two thirds of all online retail is exposed. The three most affected shops were German.

How do you fix this without losing search traffic?

By specifying the claim rather than deleting it. A claim justified on the same medium remains lawful; a deleted claim takes the text, the keywords and the page ranking with it.

This is the blind spot of rushed remediation. Stripping an adjective from eight hundred product pages means rewriting eight hundred pages, and touching the signals that carry their visibility. Three precautions usually suffice:

1. Keep the concrete product terms: material, use, category, audience. They carry the search intent.
2. Replace the vague assertion with the fact behind it, where one exists. "GOTS certified organic cotton" is both more precise and more persuasive than "eco-friendly cotton".
3. Keep a comparable length. A page that loses half its text loses indexable substance too.

What comes after September 2026?

European consumer law arrives in waves. After ECGT, five texts affect online retail through 2029.

Frequently asked questions

Is the word "sustainable" banned?

No. What is banned is using it without being able to demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance, and without that justification appearing clearly on the same medium as the claim.

Can I link to a dedicated page to justify my claim?

No. The test is the same medium. A justification placed on another page satisfies neither point 4a of the directive nor the requirement set by the German Federal Court.

Are certified labels affected?

No, where they rest on a genuine third-party certification scheme within the meaning of Article 2. The EU Ecolabel, the Blue Angel, the EU organic label and NF Environnement remain lawful. Self-declared marks are the target.

Is carbon offsetting still allowed?

Offsetting remains allowed; presenting it as neutrality does not. Point 4c targets the claim of neutral, reduced or positive impact based on offsetting, not the act of offsetting itself.

What are the penalties?

They are set by each member state, since a directive is transposed into national law. In Germany the practical risk is a paid cease-and-desist letter from a competitor, which lands faster than any regulator.