CMA announces review into the FMCG sector in United Kingdom

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on 26 January 2023 that it will begin a review into environmental claims made by brands in relation to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). The CMA has confirmed that it plans to examine the accuracy of “green” claims made on FMCG products, in particular, household essentials such as food, drink and toiletries, to ensure that UK consumers are not being misled. As part of its announcement, the CMA stated that it will be looking into such “concerning practices” as the use of “vague and broad eco-statements” including brands who market a product as “sustainable” or “better for the environment” without providing evidence, misleading claims regarding recycled or natural materials in a product and how recyclable the product is, as well as entire product ranges that are incorrectly marketed or labelled as “sustainable”.

This review comes as part of the CMA’s ongoing work into “greenwashing” by brands whereby the regulator is considering whether companies are complying with UK consumer protection law, including its Green Claims Code and the legislation which underpins the Code, the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

The announcement also comes a year after the CMA made a similar announcement in relation to fashion retail that begun a general “greenwashing” review. Barely six months after the CMA’s announcement in January 2022, three of the UK’s biggest fast fashion brands found themselves under formal CMA investigation. The investigation into fashion retailers and the review into FMCG were slated as part of the CMA’s wider plan to tackle misleading environmental claims made by brands, which it announced back in September 2021. At the same time, the CMA put the travel and transport industry on notice as a sector it would prioritise. It is likely, then, that we can expect the CMA to make further announcements on this topic in the coming months.

For further information on the sustainability claims and greenwashing in the UK please see here.

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