Crackdown on fake and misleading claims will be tightened! Claims like ‘100% eco-friendly’ and ‘organic’ will be verified.

New Delhi : If any manufacturer, trader, service provider and advertising agency makes claims about any product or service like being ‘100% eco-friendly’, ‘zero emission’, ‘green’, ‘natural’, ‘cruelty free’ or ‘organic’. , then this information will have to be given on what basis it is being said, so that it can be verified whether it is so or not. Many times, many companies make fake claims to cash in on people’s awareness towards the environment. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), under the Consumer Affairs Ministry, on Tuesday issued guidelines to prevent greenwashing and misleading environmental claims.

Don’t hide, tell clearly
The act of hiding the harmful effects of a product or service by making false, vague or exaggerated claims that any service or product or its manufacturing process is environment friendly is called greenwashing. It must be clearly stated in the advertisement whether the entire product or service is being described as environment friendly or whether some of its parts or the manufacturing process or the packaging or the disposal or only the method of providing the service is being claimed.

Why is greenwashing law necessary?
To cash in on the growing craze for green, eco-friendly and organic products, companies often make false and misleading claims. Many times they make claims of being organic and eco-friendly about those products which in reality are either not organic or green at all or partially so. To stop such shenanigans, the government is imposing a greenwashing law. Companies also allegedly do similar tricks with sugar free products. Now these companies will have to tell how organic, green or sugar free their products are.