EU Green Deal: How it will change the sports and outdoor industry

Consumers influence the market with every purchase decision. That is certainly true. But if consumers were to consider the climate and environmental impacts of every product they buy down to the last detail, they would not get very far. Too many aspects flow into the climate and environmentalꦫ balance of a product, and the manufacturing process and the entire life cycle of a product are too opaqu✅e.

Of course, there are ways to identify environmentally harmful products. Some brands set their sustainability standards much higher than others, certificates show origin or environmental balances. In the end, however, consumers must have confidence if they want to make m☂ore sustainable purchasing decisions. This is why politics is called upon more than ever to moderate theꦚ fight against the climate crisis with rules, laws and regulations.

The EU Green Deal is the most important building block for this in the European Union. The ambitious plan envisages climate neutrality by 2050. At the same time, it is intended to promote economic growth. In order to💜 implement the EU Green Deal, there are many pieces of legislation that are coming into force, being adapted or are currently being drafte﷽d. Here, many elements that promote the Circular Economy can be found.

"For any brand - European or not - that wants to sell its products in the EU, many laws will matter. And they will probably be more ambitious and come into force much soone𒊎r than most people think," says Pasc🔯ale Moreau, founder of 💎. T❀he Brussels-based consulting agency focuses on sustainability regulations and their impact on businesses.

Numerous pieces of legislation are becoming important for the sports and outdoor industries, especially textiles, and some are already being implemented. Moreau di🤡vides them into the three areas of company, product and consumer communication.

In the area of companies

1. Directive♒: EU Commission's proposed directiv🌸e on corporate sustainability due diligence.
2. : designed to guide investments that support the transitio🌟n to a green and sustainable European economy.
3. : EU 𝄹direct🧔ive on corporate sustainability reporting.

In the area of product

1. : designed to help ensure that the majority of products available on the EU m🗹arket in t🦩he future have a lower environmental impact throughout their life cycle.
2. This ඣaims to better prot☂ect citizens and the environment and promote innovation for safe and sustainable chemicals.
3. (and other substances).
4. : with this, the European Commission aims to ensure that all packaging in the EU is reusable or💎 recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.
5. : It is intended to provide information on components, materials and chemical substaജꦰnces, or information on the repairability, spare parts and proper disposal of a product.
6. EU regul꧟ation bജanning products manufactured with forced labor.
7. : EU regulation designed to ensure that productsꦜ consumed by EU citizens do not contribute to global deforestation or damage to forests☂.
8. : It explains 🥀what ꦬwaste is, how it must be recycled and reused.

In the area of communication

1. empower consumers for environmental ch💃ange: This provides for consumers to engage in environmental change through better information and aims to protect against misinformation.
2. Proposal ensure that environmental claims made by companies are sℱubstantiated, reliable and verifiable. In common parlance, this guideline is inte🅺nded to prevent greenwashing.
3. Methodology for the environmental footprint of prod🌱ucts).
4. on the labeling of textiles: In the future, these should also contain in🌃formation on sustainabilℱity and circular economy.

The legislatio🦩n is being developed and implemented step by step. Even if the details are not always clear until the actual implementation, those companies will have a competitive advantage that deal with the regulations important to them at an early stage and adapt their corporate strategy, communication and product development accordingly. Many companies, especially from the outdoor industry, can be seen as pioneers here.