Centre To Unveil Anti-greenwashing Rules On Monday: Report

The centre is ready to curb greenwashing, with final rules ready to be unveiled on Monday, according to a media report. Companies now will have to go through a stricter verification procedure before making any claim of being eco-friendly. 

Since India has a large consumer market where people are willing to purchase eco-friendly products, several cases have been registered when companies use words like clean, green, eco-friendly, eco-consciousness, minimal impact, animal friendly, zero toxicity, cruelty-free, and carbon-neutral, without having proper certification of regulatory authorities.

To eliminate such practices the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) constituted a committee of stakeholders for consultation on "Greenwashing" dated 2 November, 2023. The committee comprise National Law Universities (NLUs), law firms, Government and voluntary consumer organisations (VCOs) and all the major industry associations.

Three meetings of the committee were held to finalise the draft guidelines for ‘Prevention and Regulation of Greenwashing.’ The last meeting was held on 10 January 2024 wherein a draft of the proposed guidelines was discussed with the committee members.  Later in February center released the draft for the public and stakeholders to review and suggestions.

The draft noted that any green claims made by a person or an organisation must be supported by verifiable evidence. The use of misleading words, symbols, or imagery, emphasising positive environmental aspects while downplaying or concealing harmful attributes, will be considered greenwashing.  Any information related to such claims should be made public through different means of communication—directly, through quick response (QR) codes or web links.

Notably, greenwashing is considered as an unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 in India. The Act prohibits such misleading claims and outlines penalties and remedies for consumers adversely affected by these misleading practices.