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sec_4_1_1_3__para__19

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

If a trader or industry chooses to use private labelling schemes, symbols or certificates for marketing purposes, they must only be applied to the products/services or traders which meet the criteria set to qualify for their use. The criteria should demonstrate clear environmental benefits compared with competing products or traders and should be easily publicly accessible. Otherwise, such labelling is likely to be misleading. The labelling may have to be further qualified, so that the meaning and the most relevant criteria of the labelling is highlighted (e.g. highlight if the use of water is the most relevant criterion for a given product). Moreover, traders should consider third party verification to ensure the credibility and relevance of the label. The private nature of the label (if that is the case) and its meaning or significance must also be made clear to the consumer. Finally, such labels must not be capable of being confused with other labels, including, for example, labels of publicly run labelling schemes or schemes of competitors.

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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.