All economic activities, in the Italian-European system, must implement the regulatory principle of sustainable development, including advertising and marketing activities. The essay focuses on the unlawfulness and unworthiness of protection of green commercial communications (the Green Claims) that constitute Greenwashing, i.e. unfair commercial practices through which a company misappropriates environmental virtues that it does not possess, inducing consumers to purchase goods/services that appear (but are not) sustainable, with distorting effects on competition (integrating an act of unfair competition). Such practices generate a contrast between appearance and reality and, by virtue of the principle of self-responsibility, oblige the trader to answer for it, also under the general clause of conduct in good faith. Also considered is the contrast to Greenwashing operated, prior to the Greenwashing Directive, by self-regulatory and substantive case law, and to Greenwashing as a breach of contractual compliance under the Directive on the Sale of Consumer Goods.
Tutte le attività economiche, nel sistema italo-europeo, devono attuare il princìpio normativo dello sviluppo sostenibile, anche le attività pubblicitarie e di marketing. Il saggio si incentra sull’illiceità e l’immeritevolezza di tutela delle comunicazioni commerciali verdi (i Green Claims) che costituiscono Greenwashing, ossia pratiche commerciali scorrette attraverso le quali l’impresa si appropria indebitamente di virtù ambientaliste che non ha, inducendo i consumatori ad acquistare beni/servizi che appaiono (ma non sono) sostenibili, con effetti distorsivi della concorrenza (integrando un atto di concorrenza sleale). Tali pratiche ingenerano un contrasto tra apparenza e realtà e, in virtù del principio di autoresponsabilità, obbligano il professionista a risponderne, anche in virtù della clausola generale di comportamento secondo buona fede. La riflessione si sofferma altresì sul contrasto al Greenwashing effettuato, anteriormente alla Direttiva c.d. Greenwashing, dalla giurisprudenza autodisciplinare e di merito e sul Greenwashing quale violazione dell’obbligo di conformità al contratto previsto dalla direttiva sulla vendita di beni di consumo.
Comunicare la sostenibilità: Green Claims e Greenwashing
Laura Tafaro
2024-01-01
Abstract
All economic activities, in the Italian-European system, must implement the regulatory principle of sustainable development, including advertising and marketing activities. The essay focuses on the unlawfulness and unworthiness of protection of green commercial communications (the Green Claims) that constitute Greenwashing, i.e. unfair commercial practices through which a company misappropriates environmental virtues that it does not possess, inducing consumers to purchase goods/services that appear (but are not) sustainable, with distorting effects on competition (integrating an act of unfair competition). Such practices generate a contrast between appearance and reality and, by virtue of the principle of self-responsibility, oblige the trader to answer for it, also under the general clause of conduct in good faith. Also considered is the contrast to Greenwashing operated, prior to the Greenwashing Directive, by self-regulatory and substantive case law, and to Greenwashing as a breach of contractual compliance under the Directive on the Sale of Consumer Goods.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.