国际消费者保护机构的调查显示,消费者需要意识到,哪怕产品的环保认证看起来无可挑剔,也不一定真环保。
国际消费者保护和执法网络一项调查发现,有些婴儿湿巾声称含0%塑料,有些不含乳制品宣称取自“可持续来源”,可能都只是打着环保旗号的违法产品。
由于消费者对无污染产品兴趣日渐增长,今年国际消费者保护和执法网络年度网站大抽查活动首次聚焦环境问题。调查目的是避免消费者为声称环保实际上并不环保的商品支付更多费用。网上宣称可持续的产品中,多达40%可能存在误导。
该机构发现了三种误导性说法,包括含糊不清的“环保”声明。有种牛奶替代品据说选取了可持续原料,却没有进一步的解释或证据。另一家商业街时尚零售商宣传服装材料为“再生棉”,却没有列出再生棉的含量。
有些公司自行创建了环保品牌,却无机构认证。还有些企业隐藏或省略产品污染程度等关键信息,显得更环保。
另一个例子中,一款婴儿湿巾声称含0%塑料,但没解释是产品里还是整个包装都不含塑料。
“太多网站似乎在向消费者发出误导性信息,意味着真正提供环保产品的企业反而少有人问津,”英国竞争和市场管理局首席执行官安德烈亚•科谢利说,该机构与荷兰消费者和市场管理局共同负责本次调查。(财富中文网)
译者:梁宇
审校:夏林
国际消费者保护机构的调查显示,消费者需要意识到,哪怕产品的环保认证看起来无可挑剔,也不一定真环保。
国际消费者保护和执法网络一项调查发现,有些婴儿湿巾声称含0%塑料,有些不含乳制品宣称取自“可持续来源”,可能都只是打着环保旗号的违法产品。
由于消费者对无污染产品兴趣日渐增长,今年国际消费者保护和执法网络年度网站大抽查活动首次聚焦环境问题。调查目的是避免消费者为声称环保实际上并不环保的商品支付更多费用。网上宣称可持续的产品中,多达40%可能存在误导。
该机构发现了三种误导性说法,包括含糊不清的“环保”声明。有种牛奶替代品据说选取了可持续原料,却没有进一步的解释或证据。另一家商业街时尚零售商宣传服装材料为“再生棉”,却没有列出再生棉的含量。
有些公司自行创建了环保品牌,却无机构认证。还有些企业隐藏或省略产品污染程度等关键信息,显得更环保。
另一个例子中,一款婴儿湿巾声称含0%塑料,但没解释是产品里还是整个包装都不含塑料。
“太多网站似乎在向消费者发出误导性信息,意味着真正提供环保产品的企业反而少有人问津,”英国竞争和市场管理局首席执行官安德烈亚•科谢利说,该机构与荷兰消费者和市场管理局共同负责本次调查。(财富中文网)
译者:梁宇
审校:夏林
Consumers need to be aware that products boasting impeccable environmental credentials aren’t always as green as they seem, according to an investigation by the global consumer watchdog.
Baby wipes that claim to be 0% plastic or dairy-free milk that declares itself as “sustainably sourced” are just some of the products that may be breaking the law by greenwashing, a review by the International Consumer Protection Enforcement Network found.
Amid a boom in consumer interest in products that don’t pollute, the annual ICPEN sweep of websites focused on the environment for the first time this year. It aims to help protect consumers from paying more for goods that claim to be green, but in fact aren’t. As much as 40% of the sustainability claims made online could well be misleading.
Three types of misleading claims were identified, including vague “eco” statements. One milk substitute was said to be sustainably sourced with no further explanation or evidence. Another high street fashion retailer promoted clothes as ‘recycled cotton’ without listing the amount of recycled cotton used.
Companies also created their own-brand eco-labels that weren’t linked to an accredited organization. Others hid or omitted key information, such as a product’s pollution levels in order to appear more environmentally friendly.
In another example, a pack of baby wipes claimed to be 0% plastic without explaining if that meant the product or the packet.
“Too many websites appear to be pushing misleading claims onto consumers, which means that companies offering products with a genuine environmental benefit are not getting the customers they deserve,” said Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, which co-led the sweep with The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets.