The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it has closed an investigation into environmental claims made by Unilever over concerns that the global consumer brand giant had been overstating the environmental attributes of some of its products, after changes made by Unilever and broad green claims improvements noted by the regulator in the consumer goods segment more broadly.

The CMA’s probe into Unilever formed part the regulator’s broader greenwashing investigation into whether consumers are being misled by the sustainability claims in the marketing of products and services, with an initial review of companies in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector uncovering “a range of concerning practices.”

The regulator launched its Unilever investigation in December 2023, highlighting concerns including the use of “vague and broad” language that it said could mislead shoppers about the environmental impact of certain products, claims about ingredients that could exaggerate how “natural” the product is, claims about a single aspect of a product that may suggest that the product as a whole is environmentally friendly, and claims about product recyclability that fail to specify if they relate to the whole product, or just part, or the packaging. The CMA also said at the time that the “colours and imagery” used by Unilever “may create the overall impression that some products are more environmentally friendly than they actually are.”

In its update, the CMA said, however, that “a range of factors” have led to its decision to close the investigation, including “changes Unilever has made to claims on some of its products,” although the regulator did not cite specific changes by the company, as well as “the wider impact of our programme of work on tackling misleading green claims.”

In its statement, the CMA said:

“The CMA’s Green Claims Code and successful enforcement action to date has helped businesses understand how they can promote their green credentials whilst staying on the right side of the law. The CMA has seen positive changes to the claims made including in the fast-moving consumer goods sector.”

In a statement provided to ESG Today following the CMA’s decision, a Unilever spokesperson said:

“We are pleased that the CMA has confirmed they are closing their investigation. We have complied with all requests for information throughout this process. We have always been committed to making responsible claims about the benefits of our products on our packs and to these being transparent and clear, and we have robust processes in place to make sure any claims can be substantiated.”