Recital (14) · Directive (EU) 2024/825

(14)Marketing across the Member States of goods as being identical when, in reality, they have a significantly different composition or significantly different characteristics could mislead consumers and cause them to take a transactional decision that they would not otherwise have taken. Such marketing practices are expressly addressed in Article 6(2), point (c), of Directive 2005/29/EC, introduced by Directive (EU) 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council^note that Member States have had to apply as of 28 May 2022. The Commission will assess and report in 2024 on the application of Directive (EU) 2019/2161, including Article 6(2), point (c), of Directive 2005/29/EC and whether those practices should be subject to more stringent requirements, including prohibition in Annex I. The new provisions against greenwashing practices in this Directive should also apply to such practices where versions of the same product are marketed as being identical in different Member States despite having significant differences as referred to in Article 6(2), point (c), of Directive 2005/29/EC.

Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.

Defined terms · 13

Show every defined term

certification scheme
means a third-party verification scheme that certifies that a product, process or business complies with certain requirements, that allows for the use of a corresponding sustainability label, and the terms of which, including its requirements, are publicly available and meet the following criteria:
commercial guarantee of durability
means a producer’s commercial guarantee of durability as referred to in Article 17 of Directive (EU) 2019/771, under which the producer is directly liable to the consumer during the entire period of the commercial guarantee of durability for repair or replacement of the goods in accordance with Article 14 of Directive (EU) 2019/771, whenever the goods do not maintain their durability;
consumable
means any component of a good that is used up recurrently and that needs to be replaced or replenished for the good to function as intended;
durability
means durability as defined in Article 2, point (13), of Directive (EU) 2019/771;
environmental claim
means any message or representation which is not mandatory under Union or national law, in any form, including text, pictorial, graphic or symbolic representation, such as labels, brand names, company names or product names, in the context of a commercial communication, and which states or implies that a product, product category, brand or trader has a positive or zero impact on the environment or is less damaging to the environment than other products, product categories, brands or traders, or has improved its impact over time;
functionality
means functionality as defined in Article 2, point (9), of Directive (EU) 2019/771.
generic environmental claim
means any environmental claim made in written or oral form, including through audiovisual media, that is not included on a sustainability label and where the specification of the claim is not provided in clear and prominent terms on the same medium;
goods
means goods as defined in Article 2, point (5), of Directive (EU) 2019/771 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
producer
means producer as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Directive (EU) 2019/771;
recognised excellent environmental performance
means environmental performance compliant with Regulation (EC) No 66/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council or with national or regional EN ISO 14024 type I ecolabelling schemes officially recognised in the Member States, or top environmental performance in accordance with other applicable Union law;
reparability score
means a score expressing the capacity of a good to be repaired, based on harmonised requirements established at Union level;
software update
means a free update, including a security update, that is necessary to keep goods with digital elements, digital content and digital services in conformity in accordance with Directives (EU) 2019/770 and (EU) 2019/771;’;
sustainability label
means any voluntary trust mark, quality mark or equivalent, either public or private, that aims to set apart and promote a product, a process or a business by reference to its environmental or social characteristics, or both, and excludes any mandatory label required under Union or national law;