Fashion retailers “should not exploit consumers’ concern for the environment” – consumer authorities
May 1, 2025
Twenty consumer authorities, including Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC), have issued an open letter to the fashion retail sector on the use of environmental claims.
Published by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), a global network of consumer protection law enforcement authorities, the letter sets out principles to assist fashion retailers when making environmental claims, aiming to raise standards and ensure traders comply with consumer protection laws.
- Avoid vague and general claims
- Do not overstate the significance of environmental measures
- Avoid claims based on data that is not sufficiently specific to the product
- Avoid use of self-made labelling schemes and misuse of third-party certifications
- Be specific when using ‘sustainability’ filters in online stores
- Focus marketing on specific measures already being taken, rather than future aspirations
The authorities advise fashion retailers to avoid vague and general terms. For example, refrain from claiming without evidence that an item of clothing is ‘conscious’, ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’, as this is unlikely to be true for a product in a polluting industry like the textile industry. Instead, retailers are urged to stick to accurate claims backed up by certification.
The letter also states that instead of making claims about future aspirations, marketing should focus on the specific measures a trader is already taking. A detailed claim about a goal relating to a particular fabric is less likely to mislead consumers than a broad, aspirational claim such as ‘we are committed to a better world’.
For example, while reducing the amount of water used in making jeans can be a positive improvement, the reduction could constitute a small fraction of the overall emissions and negative environmental impact of the production of the jeans. The improvement should then not be given undue emphasis in the marketing, according to the letter.
Read the letter from ICPEN members to fashion retailers.
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