Greenwashing: new rules from 27 September

What is changing and when

The new rules are introduced by Act No. 310/2025 Coll., through which the National Council of the Slovak Republic amended Act No. 108/2024 Coll. on Consumer Protection in October 2025. The amendment transposes Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition into Slovak law. The provisions on environmental claims take effect on 27 September 2026, the same day on which the Directive’s rules start to apply across the European Union.

The change goes well beyond individual words on packaging. The Act now defines environmental claims, sustainability labels and certification schemes, and extends the list of practices that are considered unfair regardless of the circumstances of the case.

What counts as an environmental claim

An environmental claim is any voluntary statement or representation in commercial communication that states or implies that a product, a brand or the company itself has a positive impact on the environment, is less damaging than others, has no impact at all, or will reduce its impact over time. The form does not matter: a claim can be text, an image, a graphic or a symbol, including on a label, in a brand name, a product name or a company name.

The rules therefore cover far more than advertising slogans. They apply to packaging, websites, online shops, social media posts, advertising and point-of-sale communication.

What will be prohibited in all circumstances

The amendment extends the so-called blacklist of commercial practices. If a company uses any of these practices, the supervisory authority does not need to examine whether it actually influenced a consumer’s decision. From 27 September 2026, the blacklist includes in particular:

•       generic environmental claims such as ‘eco-friendly’, ‘green’, ‘nature-friendly’ or ‘climate-friendly’, where the company does not clearly and prominently specify on the same medium what the claim refers to and cannot demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance, for example under the EU Ecolabel,

•       environmental claims about an entire product or an entire business when they concern only a certain aspect of the product or one of the company’s activities,

•       claims, based on emissions offsetting, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions,

•       displaying a sustainability label that is neither based on a certification scheme nor established by public authorities,

•       presenting requirements imposed by law on all products in a category as a distinctive feature of the company’s own offer.

Specific, substantiated claims remain permitted. Instead of ‘eco-friendly packaging’, a company may state, for example, ‘packaging made from 100% recycled plastic’, provided it can back this up. Such a claim must still be accurate and must not mislead.

Sustainability labels and certifications

Sustainability labels, meaning logos and seals intended to distinguish a product or a company on the basis of its environmental or social characteristics, will only be permitted if they are based on a certification scheme or established by public authorities. The certification scheme must be transparent and credible and open to all companies on fair and non-discriminatory terms, its rules must be developed in consultation with experts and stakeholders, and compliance with it must be monitored by an independent third party. Logos that companies design for themselves will generally not meet these conditions.

A certification must also match the claim it supports. Product ecolabels such as the EU Ecolabel or the German Blue Angel (Blauer Engel) assess the environmental performance of a specific product. Environmental management systems such as EMAS or ISO 14001, on the other hand, demonstrate how a company manages its environmental impact, not that its products are more environmentally friendly. Likewise, companies should not use a product life cycle assessment (LCA) as a substitute for calculating their organisational carbon footprint, or present energy certificates as evidence of the level of, or a reduction in, their carbon footprint. Every claim must rest on tools and certifications that correspond to its actual purpose and scope.

Carbon neutrality and offsetting

Claims such as ‘carbon-neutral product’ based on emissions offsetting, for example the purchase of carbon credits or tree planting, will be prohibited regardless of the quality of the credits used, even where they are certified. Companies may, however, continue to inform consumers that they support climate projects, provided they do not create the impression that the product itself is neutral as a result.

Commitments about the future, such as ‘we will be climate neutral by 2040’, also deserve close attention. Such a claim may be misleading unless it is backed by a detailed and realistic plan with measurable, time-bound targets that is regularly verified by an independent expert.

Green colours, leaves and globes

Because an image or a symbol can also be an environmental claim, the visual side of communication matters too. Green colours, leaves, globes or product names with an ‘eco’ prefix are not prohibited as such. However, if together they create the impression of an environmental benefit that the company cannot substantiate, the supervisory authority may assess them as a misleading commercial practice.

Who is affected

The Consumer Protection Act protects consumers, so it primarily affects manufacturers, retailers, online shops and service providers that communicate with consumers. B2B companies should also pay attention. Their environmental claims are often passed on by customers in their own consumer communication, and those customers need evidence to support them.

Inspections and penalties

Compliance with the new rules will be monitored by supervisory authorities, primarily the Slovak Trade Inspection (SOI). They may ask companies for evidence substantiating their claims. A breach of the Act may result in a fine from EUR 200 up to 2% of turnover for the previous accounting period, capped at EUR 200,000. For a repeated breach within 12 months, the fine may reach 3% of turnover, capped at EUR 400,000.

The reputational risk can be as serious as the fine itself. A public case of greenwashing undermines the trust of customers, business partners and investors.

How to word environmental claims: five principles

Whether you are drafting claims or reviewing them, we recommend following these five principles in particular.

•       Relevance and accuracy. Consumers should receive all the information they need to make a decision, but nothing superfluous. A claim must not be incomplete, nor should it highlight insignificant or irrelevant benefits that could influence the decision.

•       Sustainability. A label or logo describing a product or a company as ‘sustainable’ must be based on a certification scheme or established by a public authority. The word ‘sustainable’ used in text is a generic claim, so it needs to be specified directly, or better avoided.

•       Specificity. Avoid general terms that suggest a broader scope than the claim actually has. Instead of ‘eco-friendly company’, state what the improvement relates to, for example ‘100% of the electricity used in our operations comes from renewable sources’.

•       Objective comparisons. When comparing products, services or options, the comparison must be objective and clear. State what you are comparing with, on the basis of which parameters and method, and compare like with like using up-to-date data.

•       Accessible evidence. You must be able to back up every claim with convincing evidence, and it is good practice to make it available to consumers too, for example through explanatory notes, references to sources or a QR code. A QR code or link works well for further detail, but the specification of the claim itself should appear directly on the packaging or in the advertisement.

This list is not exhaustive. The interpretation of the new rules will continue to develop through the practice of supervisory authorities and the courts.

How to prepare

We recommend starting with the following steps:

•       map all the environmental claims you use, including packaging, website, advertising, social media, product names and visuals,

•       assess each claim against the principles above and check that you can support it with data,

•       review carbon neutrality claims based on offsetting, sustainability labels without a certification scheme and certifications that do not match the scope of the claim,

•       for future commitments, check that you have a realistic plan with measurable targets and independent verification,

•       set up an internal process for reviewing environmental claims before publication and train your marketing and sales teams.

How we can help

An environmental claim is only as strong as the data behind it. As part of our sustainability services, we can help you map and assess your environmental claims, identify risks and propose practical measures. We can also prepare the evidence your claims rely on, for example by calculating the carbon footprint of your company or product under the GHG Protocol, carrying out a product life cycle assessment (LCA) or an ESG 360° analysis, and help you choose the tool that matches the purpose and scope of each claim. We also offer tailored ESG training for your teams.

If you are unsure whether your communication will stand up to scrutiny, get in touch with us.

This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice on specific claims.