The Fight Against Greenwashing in the European Union: Directive (EU) 2024/825 of the European Parliament and the Council, of February 28, 2024, and the Portuguese Case

Abstract

In contemporary society, issues of environmental protection are a constant concern and can challenge acquired habits, as well as the acquisition of goods and products. Thus, the consumer is called to have an active and proactive role in sustainable development, as their choices, to a certain extent, will focus on goods and services that are less harmful to the environment.It is certain that humans, as consumers, need to acquire goods and services to meet their essential needs and, in this sense, play a primordial role in the development of the economic and commercial circuit, aiming to address their deficiencies. To do so, they need true, reliable information about the products and services they intend to acquire so that they are sustainable and less harmful to the environment.However, in commercial relations between professionals and consumers, advertising practices are used by economic agents to claim that their products, goods, and services are the least harmful to the environment. This is where greenwashing comes in, which is nothing more than a false environmental claim aimed at suggesting or giving the impression, through advertising or marketing campaigns, that a certain product, good, or service has a less harmful environmental impact. But, in reality, such environmental claims are unfounded, inaccurate, incorrect, or even false.Following the European Green Deal, around the circular economy, there is a concern by the European Union in combating greenwashing practices, ecological bleaching, or eco-bleaching. In this fight, the Directive (EU) 2024/825 of the European Parliament and the Council, of February 28, 2024, emerges, aiming to combat unfair commercial practices that prevent consumers from making the most sustainable choices for the environment.