A completely deplorable and deceptive marketing activity that has also moved the European leaders

According to the European Union about 40% of communication to consumers, which is done through direct advertising that through the information on the packaging of the products, is often unfounded and easily misleading towards purchasing choices.

We are surrounded by words such as “green”, “green”, “eco-sustainable”, “bio”, “recyclable”, “ respectful of the environment" and so on, but behind these words is there really a product that lives up to what is declared?

It would seem that often it is not, so much so that the European Parliament will give indications to member states to adopt dissuasive actions against this phenomenon, imposing sanctions in order not to distort the market.

The aim of the bill is to help consumers make informed choices and reduce unfair competition, between companies that make environmentally friendly products, from those that don't but say they do.

In fact, consumers in most cases do not have correct information when they buy a product, as the labels do not always reflect the indications realities of the content, but what the consumer would like to be inside.

A subtle marketing strategy that tends to give customers what they want without, however, do nothing from an industrial point of view to realize what is written on the packaging, creating shortcuts with little effort.

The European Union is thinking of setting up an independent control, carried out by third parties, which can verify what companies declare about their products, to avoid, and possibly penalize, with effective, proportionate and dissuasive interventions, those who make ecological declarations when in reality they are not.

Sanctions should be established on the basis of common criteria, considering "the nature and seriousness of the infringement", as well as "the resulting economic benefits" and the potential environmental damage caused.

The role of the supervisory authority, in terms of trade and the environment, is increasingly important to give both consumers the right protection and they deserve, both for businesses, a fair market, with honest and equivalent competition for all the countries of the European Union.

However, we must consider that some time will still pass between the proposal and the entry into force of a European law, since, currently, in the common market there are around 200 “ecological quality” certificates or labels, each of which arises from national legislation and is based on different control methodologies from country to country.

Much of the debate centers on the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), which the European Commission wants to gradually extend to an ever wider range of products, giving them a sort of license, following them from their birth to their end.

The use of the PEF methodology has created resentment among producers in some sectors, as it would appear that it does not take into account all the production and commercial aspects related to sustainability.

Indeed, with regard to packaging, for example, glass manufacturers have complained that the envisaged PEF methodology, was excessively focused on CO2 emissions, without taking into account the fact that glass can be recycled over and over again. Meanwhile, other benefits of glass, such as the absence of toxic chemicals in its composition, have not been properly reflected, according to the European Federation of Glass Packaging Manufacturers (FEVE).

The European Union has said it is willing to find a way that can consider the needs of all production sectors, trying to obtain a law that represents companies, consumers and protect the environment.

An important chapter will then be dedicated to communication by companies to the market, which will have to be monitored and sanctioned in case of attitudes that reflect greenwashing.

This sanctioning activity should also have a social aspect, declaring the company that uses these systems worthy of receiving a "certificate of shame", as well as a fine, in order to compensate for the fraudulent information with a negative image towards consumers.

Machine translation. We apologize for any inaccuracies. Original article in Italian.