A coalition of European business associations, including Edana, a representative of nonwovens, has issued a joint statement urging the European Commission to introduce a “grandfathering clause” to the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT) Directive.
The organizations warn that the current interpretation of the Directive could result in significant waste and additional costs if no transitional measures are introduced.
While supporting the Directives‘ objective of combating greenwashing and providing accurate sustainability information, the new rules could lead to unnecessary waste and economic disruption.
Concerns over retroactive application
According to the coalition, recent guidance from the European Commission indicated that all environmental claims must comply with the Directive by September 2026, irrespective of when products were manufactured or placed on the market. This interpretation would require immediate compliance for existing stock, which the signatories say conflicts with established EU principles of legal certainty and non-retroactivity.
Risk of waste and economic impact
The associations caution that, under the current approach, large volumes of products already on the market could be withdrawn or destroyed, despite being fully functional and legally compliant at the time of sale. Such outcomes would run counter to broader EU sustainability and ecodesign objectives.
In addition, corrective actions such as stickering or repackaging are described as logistically challenging and could cost individual companies from a few hundred thousand to millions of euros.
Call for grandfathering clause
To avoid these outcomes while still supporting the Directive’s goals, the coalition calls on the Commission to introduce a “grandfathering clause”. This would allow products placed on the market before the application date to continue to be sold. The organizations also propose the development of a coordinated action plan to manage existing stock in a structured manner.
The joint statement is supported by a broad coalition of industry representatives.
