Risk
Cease-and-desist over “klimaneutral”: what a single word can cost you
A single word can trigger a cease-and-desist, with full cost recovery. Why that becomes a cost risk from the deadline, and why you can’t catch it across a whole catalog by eye.
Key takeaways
- A single word on a single product page is enough.
- A competitor can act directly, with full cost recovery, from the day after the deadline.
- It’s phrasings, icons and seals, spread across your whole catalog, not reliably found by eye.
- Konforma tells you where you’re exposed before it costs you.
What a single word can cost you
From 27 September 2026, a blanket environmental claim like “klimaneutral” without recognised proof is automatically unfair, with no further examination. The point isn’t only the ban, it’s the enforcement: a competitor can send a cease-and-desist the day after and recover its costs (lawyer and proceedings) from you. One hit on one product page is enough.
The sharpest risk in the whole EmpCo package
Rechtsgrundlage
Annex to § 3(3) UWG (the “blacklist”) · UCPD Annex I, inserted by Directive (EU) 2024/825 (EmpCo)
EmpCo puts blanket environmental claims without recognised proof on the blacklist as unfair per se, enforceable by competitors, too.
Why one word is only the start
“klimaneutral” is the best-known example, which is exactly what makes it the least dangerous one: you will find that word yourself. What costs you is what you never thought to look for. EmpCo doesn’t ban a list of trigger words. It judges a claim by the impression it leaves on the consumer, and that impression can sit in half a sentence, in an icon, or in a seal you awarded yourself.
The real problem: your whole catalog
With three products, you can check this. With 50, 500 or 5,000, you can’t. The risky words hide in descriptions, variants, alt text, imported copy and old campaigns, and one missed hit is enough for a competitor. This is exactly where you shouldn’t rely on your eye.
Be sure before it costs you.
A competitor needs one afternoon and a lawyer. You need a few minutes, and then you know where you stand.
Important note
Questions on this topic
Who can act against me over “klimaneutral”?
Mainly competitors. An unlawful environmental claim is an unfair commercial practice; in Germany a competitor can send a cease-and-desist (Abmahnung) and recover its costs from you. Associations can act too.
Is an asterisk with an explanation enough?
Usually not. A blanket, unproven claim is generally not cured by an asterisk. What matters is that the claim, taken as a whole, is not misleading.
Can’t I just review my shop myself?
With a handful of products, maybe. Across a whole catalog the wording hides in descriptions, variants, alt text and imported copy, and one missed hit is enough for a cease-and-desist. That is exactly what Konforma checks automatically.
What can Konforma do that I can’t?
Read your whole catalog, and read it again every time it changes. Not the ten pages you happen to think of, but every description, every variant, every imported text. Every hit comes with the legal basis and a lower-risk wording, before it costs you.