Greenwashing Guidelines, 2024: Redefining Compliance For Advertisers In India
- IJLLR Journal
- Aug 27
- 1 min read
Deepanshi Shukla & Rishav Srivastva, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.), National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam
ABSTRACT
A major advancement in the regulation of environmental marketing in India is the Central Consumer Protection Authority's Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Greenwashing or Misleading Environmental Claims, 2024. The Guidelines attempt to counter environmental claims made by companies and advertisements that are deceptive, ambiguous, inflated, or unsupported. They set standards for verifying environmental claims, making disclosures easily accessible, controlling implicit and comparative environmental claims, and guaranteeing that aspirational environmental statements are backed by practical measures. The Guidelines expand accountability throughout the advertising chain by applying broadly to manufacturers, service providers, traders, advertisers, advertising agencies, and endorsers. The main compliance requirements brought about by the Guidelines are examined in this article along with how they affect companies that make environmental claims. The definition and extent of environmental claims, the need for substantiation, disclosure requirements, comparison claims, certification and endorsement claims, and aspirational or futuristic environmental representations are all specifically examined. The relationship between the Guidelines and India's larger framework for consumer protection is also examined in this article. It contends that by moving away from generic sustainability-focused marketing and toward evidence-based environmental communication, the Guidelines would improve consumer protection, accountability, and openness.
Keywords: Greenwashing; Environmental Claims; Consumer Protection; CCPA; Misleading Advertisements; Sustainability
