Regulating “greenwashing” - International experience and some recommendations for improving Vietnam’s law

Abstract

Green business and green consumerism have been flourishing recently as a popular trend of the time, leading to a rapid increase in “greenwashing” - a type of advertising that misleads the public about the environmental credentials of the products. Many countries consider greenwashing a practise of false advertisements and unfair competition. This article studies the laws and regulations of the EU, the US, on greenwashing, and, from there, draws lessons from their experience to improve Vietnam’s laws on this issue, including provisions defining “misleading” in advertisement, the responsibility of businesses, or giving state authorities managing advertisement and/or competition more power. These recommendations are suitable in the context of green consumerism in Vietnam and Vietnam’s incomplete legal system on this issue.