Unfair Marketing: Ecolabeling

Do you refer to environmental labeling in your marketing?

The Patent and Trademark Court of Appeal (PMÖD) has prohibited a company from claiming in advertising, for example on Instagram, that their products are certified with an environmental label without, in connection with the claim,  informing what the label means. That one of the labels referred to by the company; "Ecocert COSMOS" is one of the most common environmental labels for cosmetic products in Sweden has not been considered sufficient to constitute an exception.

As a starting point, it is not enough to only briefly refer to a third-party certification. PMÖD made the assessment that it cannot be expected that an average consumer knows the meaning or importance of various private certifications. The fact that the label appears in the Consumer Agency's information to consumers does not show that consumers are aware of its meaning, stated PMÖD in the judgment.