Zalando Removes the Tree and the Leaf as Labeling

“We are building the leading e-commerce ecosystem for the European fashion and lifestyle market”, explained Robert Gentz, Co-CEO of Europe’s largest online retailer in mid-March on the occasion of the publication of the 2023 annual results. A year ago, Zalando had changed the sustainability communication on its homepage and replaced the green tick on the goods with concrete symbols, for Designed for Circularity, recycled materials, improved material sourcing, improved production, and ecological materials and had included a link to detailed information. However, the EU Commission is not satisfied with this approach; from Zalando’s point of view, this was a clarification and transparency. “Following a dialog with the Commission and national consumer protection authorities, Zalando has committed to removing misleading sustainability labels and symbols displayed next to products offered on its platform. Such information can mislead consumers about the environmental characteristics of products”, reports the EU Commission.

“Misleading Environmental Icons”

These icons will no longer be allowed to appear starting mid-April. “All misleading environmental icons displayed next to products, such as leaves or trees, must be removed”, according to Brussels. Just like the word “sustainability” or other terms “that indicate an environmental advantage and ethical plus point”, reports the trade magazine Textilwirtschaft.

Instead, the online retailer must provide more detailed information such as the percentage of recycled materials used. “Ultimately, the decision by the EU Commission and the national consumer protection authorities is not exclusively about sustainability, but rather about consumer protection, information obligations and clarity for customers. For us, these aspects also go hand in hand, which is why we expressly support the required transparency", says Zalando’s company headquarters.

In the fight against greenwashing, Brussels has been scrutinizing terms such as sustainability for some time. Now it has large companies such as Amazon, H&M, and Zalando particularly in its sights. The Swedes have already massively scaled back their sustainability communication, reports Textilwirtschaft. Even the analysis of the problem is complex: the term sustainability has very different dimensions. At product level, it is used as an attribute for parts that have been manufactured more sustainably. At the same time, it is the umbrella term for the entire product category.

Measurement Method Non-Existent

An example: If a T-shirt is advertised as being made from 20 percent recycled materials, it would have to be proven that the remaining 80 percent was not produced in a more environmentally harmful way than other products. In other words, it would be unclear, whether the overall product might not end up having a larger ecological footprint than a comparable, completely conventionally manufactured T-shirt. And would, therefore, not be more sustainable in the end.

To be precise, the entire life cycle assessment, i.e. the environmental balance sheet and the ecological footprint of the entire life cycle, would always have to be analyzed. And always in comparison to the data of a conventional product.

However, according to Zalando and other experts, this is not yet feasible from today’s perspective. This is because a suitable measurement method and the corresponding data do not yet exist. “It would now be important to create a coherent legal framework as well as a standardized method for calculating and presenting the ecological footprint of products and to establish a clear standard for the entire industry in order to ensure a level playing field”, demands a spokesperson.