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COMMISSION NOTICE – Guidance on the interpretation and application of Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market · European Union

For example: — A company makes a comparative claim that a razor A contains less plastic than other razors on the market. This claim is likely to be misleading if the other razors selected for the comparison are not representative of the market on the whole, and the amount of plastic in razors generally is on average lower than that of razor A. — An airline claims that it is the ‘greenest airline’ and that it has ‘the lowest CO2 emissions of all major airlines’ (319). In its advertising the airline compares its CO2 emissions per passenger-km with those of four other ‘major’ European airlines, and shows that it has the lowest CO2 emissions per passenger-km. This claim could be misleading if the emissions compared were not calculated in the same way, if the airline’s total CO2 emissions are higher than other airlines and if emissions have increased significantly over the past years. It would be clearer to claim more specifically that it has the lowest CO2 emissions per passenger-km in comparison with the four other major European airlines, provided that the method allows for such comparison and that the airline does not hide the fact that its emissions have increased in absolute terms. If climate-related claims are based on carbon/greenhouse gas emission offsets, these need to be transparent and detailed, given the associated greenwashing risks. Furthermore, comparison across all relevant transport modes, not just air travel, would be even more objective and informative. Consumers’ mobility needs may be met not only through a flight but with other means of transport, depending on the route. Therefore, a comparison of average passenger-km emissions between rail, road and air modes would prevent misleading consumers that their choice is ‘green’, when viable alternatives with lower emissions exist. — A company makes a comparative claim that their ‘remanufactured good’ is more environmentally friendly than a ‘new good’. This claim could be misleading if the applicable recycling or take-back solutions are comparatively worse and the overall environmental footprint is thereby more significant.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.