Page contents Page contents Empowering the consumer for the green transition The Directive on empowering consumers for the green transition will ensure that consumers are provided with better information at the point of sale on the durability and reparability of goods and the consumer’s legal guarantee rights. It will also strengthen consumer protection rules against greenwashing and early obsolescence practices. The Directive amends two existing consumer law Directives: the Consumer Rights Directive and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. It will make EU horizonal consumer law better fit for the green transition and will support the changes needed in consumer behaviour to achieve climate and environmental objectives under the European Green Deal. The proposal was announced in the New Consumer Agenda and the Circular Economy Action Plan. To support the coherent application of the new Directive, the Commission services provide answers to frequently asked questions from stakeholders in the document available below 27 NOVEMBER 2025Questions & Answers - Directive on empowering consumers for the Green Transition Next steps:By 27 March 2026, Member States shall transpose the Directive.From 27 September 2026, the Directive shall enter into application.Further information:25 March 2024 25 MARCH 2024Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Commission proposal (March 2022), with impact assessment and other supporting documents Harmonised notice and label on product guarantees On 25 September 2025, as a follow-up to the Directive on empowering consumers for the green transition, the European Commission has adopted an implementing regulation to better inform consumers across the European Union about their legal guarantee rights and durability guarantees offered by businesses. It establishes:A mandatory EU notice reminding consumers about their legal guarantee rights, which will be prominently on display in all shops, both online and offline. All consumers have a legal guarantee protection of at least two years on products sold in the EU; some countries have a longer legal guarantee period. When consumers receive, for example, a product that does not function as intended, sellers are obliged to provide free repair or replacement. In some cases, consumers may be eligible to a price reduction or full reimbursement. More detailed information is available here.A new EU product label for producers that choose to offer consumers a voluntary commercial guarantee of durability for a specific product at no additional cost to the consumer, covering the entire product, not just a component of it, and with a duration of more than two years.As of 27 September 2026, consumers across the European Union will be able to see this new notice and label in practice. The aim is to empower consumers to make informed choices for longer lasting products and to become better aware about the consumer’s legal guarantee rights. It will also stimulate positive competition between companies that are willing to offer such products with higher durability.Press chapeau: Commission introduces new labels to empower consumers and promote long-lasting products Circular Economy Rising consumption around the globe is increasing pressure on the environment, climate change and is creating greater competition for resources. The demand for resources makes our industry and society also dependent on imports and vulnerable to high prices and market volatility. Several EU policies aim to address these challenges and promote a more sustainable, resource-efficient and circular economy, in particular via the implementation of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan.Integrating the consumer perspective into the circular economy is key. This is linked to elements such as the optimal lifetime and durability of products and the easy repair, upgrade, disassemble and recycling of products. It is also linked to giving products a second life by selling them in the second hand market. Increasing the utilisation rate of products can also be achieved through renting or leasing models. It is also related to the provision of clear, credible and relevant information to consumers to allow them to make informed purchasing choices and contribute to this transition. Behavioural Study on Consumers’ Engagement in the Circular Economy The objective of this study from 2018 was to provide policy-relevant insights on the consumers' engagement in the circular economy. The study involved several research tasks including literature review in all EU countries as well as third countries, stakeholder interviews, consumer focus groups in 4 EU countries, an online consumer survey in 12 EU countries and an online behavioural experiment in 6 EU countries.Overall, all strands of research found that consumers were generally willing to engage in circular economy practices. But actual engagement was rather low. While a majority of consumers repair products (64%), a substantial share have not repaired products in the past (36%), and/or have no experience renting/leasing or buying second hand products (~90%).A reason for this low engagement in circular economy practices could be that consumers lack information regarding product durability and reparability as well as the lack of sufficiently developed markets (e.g. for second hand products, renting, leasing or sharing services etc.).In the behavioural experiment the provision of such information was found to be highly effective at shifting purchasing decisions towards products with greater durability and reparability. The survey and experiment also found that repair decisions are easily disrupted if arranging repair requires effort.The findings indicate that there is a large potential to close the gap between consumers’ willingness to engage and their actual engagement. The study makes several policy recommendations to further enhance consumers' engagement in the circular economy. 22 OCTOBER 2018Executive Summary 22 OCTOBER 2018Behavioural Study on Consumers’ Engagement in the Circular Economy 22 OCTOBER 2018Annexes
