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Allegro.eu S.A.Poland's antitrust regulator lays charges against Allegro, InPost for greenwashing
Poland's antitrust and consumer protection regulator UOKiK has brought charges against listed e-commerce platform Allegro, Amsterdam-listed parcel locker operator InPost and courier companies DHL and DPD for greenwashing, UOKiK said in a statement. The companies face financial penalties of up to 10 percent of their turnover for each contested practice.
Greenewashing has been defined as pseudo-ecological marketing that misleads consumers about the actual environmental impact of their services.
UOKiK pointed out that messages such as 'green fleet', 'zero emissions' or 'environmentally neutral' were based on incomplete data or only referred to a part of their activities. Moreover, messages such as "we plant trees" were based on conditions that were not clearly and comprehensively communicated to consumers.
As the regulator stressed, the long-term consequence of unfair practices by companies engaging in greenwashing could be to discourage consumers from choosing products and services that actually have a neutral or positive impact on the environment.
UOKiK assessed that greenwashing also discourages honest and responsible businesses that implement environmentally friendly and often costly solutions from taking pro-environmental actions.
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