Empowering consumers for the green transition

Directive (EU) 2024/825 changes consumer law so that certain environmental claims are treated as unfair. It has applied since 27 September 2026, including to products that were already on the shelf. A hangtag printed earlier is not exempt because the stock is old.

Generic environmental claims are banned unless they rest on recognised excellent environmental performance. Words such as green, eco-friendly, conscious or climate-friendly, used on their own, are the kind of wording the reform targets when the trader cannot show a specific and accurate meaning. A claim about future performance, such as a net-zero promise, has to rest on a clear plan with measurable targets. A claim that a product has a neutral or reduced impact because of offsetting is restricted. The wording is in CELEX 32024L0825. A Commission question-and-answer note from September 2026 sits beside the directive as a practical reading aid.

Sustainability labels shown to consumers must be based on a certification scheme, or established by public authorities. A mark a company draws for itself, or a score that is only an internal index, is not that kind of label. The JOYNN Index, and any JOYNN mark, is not presented here as meeting that test. JOYNN collects product and facility data and publishes criteria for audits. Whether a mark may be shown to a shopper is a separate question for the trader and, where a scheme exists, for the scheme owner.

On textiles, the claims that need a second look are fibre claims, recycled-content claims, animal-welfare claims, and collection names that sound environmental. A true fibre percentage under the textile labelling regulation is a composition statement. Calling that same fibre sustainable can be an environmental claim. Retailers are traders when they present the claim, even if a brand wrote the words. Producers who sell directly to consumers are in the same position. Consumer authorities enforce the directive. It is separate from the digital product passport, and separate from the Green Claims proposal, which has not been adopted.

Traders who make environmental claims to consumers are in scope, including brands, retailers and producers who sell directly to the public. The directive applies to claims already in the market on 27 September 2026. Consumer authorities enforce it.

Collection names, hangtags and online filters are all places a textile claim appears. A generic word without proof is the risk. A sustainability label aimed at shoppers needs a certification scheme or a public authority behind it. An internal score is not automatically such a label.

Product, chain and facility data in JOYNN can help a trader see whether a specific claim has evidence behind it, and can help answer a data request. The platform does not clear a claim for a hangtag, and it does not make anyone compliant. JOYNN is not legal advice. Consumer-facing sustainability labels must be based on a certification scheme or set by public authorities. The JOYNN Index is a criteria set for audits. This page does not present it, or any JOYNN mark, as a label that meets Directive (EU) 2024/825.