Deichmann Faces Court Ruling Over ‘Greenwashing’: Ordered to Remove Misleading Product Labels

Deichmann in the greenwashing spotlight. The regional court in Bochum has ruled in favor of the lawsuit filed by the German NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) against the German footwear company for alleged greenwashing practices . Following the court ruling, Deichmann has already withdrawn the sustainable claims referred to in the complaint.

As published by the NGO on its own website, the ruling was issued on Tuesday and is binding on Deichmann, which faces additional fines or sanctions if it does not stop labeling as sustainable products that are not proven to be sustainable and “cease its misleading advertising”.

Some time ago, a sustainability label was temporarily added to certain items in our online store, although no sufficiently detailed explanation was provided,“ they said.The company’s sources have explained to Modaes, who defend that after receiving the first notice, the situation was corrected immediately. “We accept the judgment related to this formal error with the aim of closing the issue definitively,“ Deichmann adds.

Deichmann has removed the labeling of the products subject to the NGO complaint

According to the NGO itself and according to local German media, Deichmann had advertised products as sustainable “without justifying the environmental benefits” of the same. In European economies, this type of advertisements are “decisive for the purchase decision”, says the entity. The German company, for its part, has explained that “we are continuously working to further develop our product range and our processes in this direction”.

DUH director Jürgen Resch welcomed the ruling, which “sends a clear message: whoever promises sustainability must be able to prove it. Anything else is greenwashing,“ he said. Although vigilance on all types of sustainable claims has increased in the last decade, the EU directive that was intended to regulate any communication on sustainability, known as the Green Claims Directive, was put on hold last June by the European Commission.

This action is part of the battery of sustainable laws that Brussels has put on hold or directly paralyzed since the middle of this year, in favor of not affecting the competition of European companies.

The Green Claims Directive was put on hold at the end of June by the European Commission

According to the latest published results, Deichmann, one of Europe’s largest operators, closed its 2024 financial year by reaching the €7.5 billion mark in sales, up 1.3% on the previous year. However, although it maintained its growth path, it slowed down from the 7% rise of the previous year.

The German giant’s gross revenues stood at €8.7 billion in its last fiscal year, up 2.3% on 2023. The company then attributed this increase to the good performance of sales of items in a higher price range, which increased the average price of sales.