Advertising of Apple Watch was halted due to claims of greenwashing.

Apple Faces Greenwashing Allegations Over 'CO2-Neutral' Claims

In a recent development, the German Environmental Aid (DUH) has accused tech giant Apple of greenwashing for promoting its smartwatches as "CO2-neutral" products. The Regional Court of Frankfurt has backed the DUH's claim, ruling Apple's advertising as misleading.

Since 2023, Apple has been advertising three models of the Apple Watch as "our first CO2-neutral product." The "Carbon Neutral" logo used in these advertisements was designed specifically for this purpose. However, the court has not viewed this logo as a quality seal, and customers are not understood to interpret it as such.

The court's ruling stems from Apple's use of nature-based compensation projects to balance out the remaining emissions during production and transport. The DUH has raised doubts about the long-term effectiveness of these projects, citing that some of the compensation projects mentioned by Apple will be logged in 2029.

In particular, a reforestation project in Paraguay, where only 25 percent of the area is permanently secured, has been questioned. The remaining 75 percent is only pachted until 2029, according to the ruling.

Apple has not provided new details about these nature-based compensation projects mentioned in its advertisements. The tech giant has, however, announced that it will no longer use statements like "CO2-neutral" or "climate-neutral" on packaging, advertisements, or product pages from September 2026.

The Regional Court of Frankfurt has not ruled against Apple's commitment to achieving CO2-neutrality. Apple remains committed to reducing emissions and aims to make its entire supply chain CO2-neutral by 2030.

The court has prohibited Apple from promoting its smartwatches in Germany as "CO2-neutral" due to misleading advertising. Apple is not allowed to repeat the disputed statements immediately, and a fine of up to 250,000 euros may be imposed for each violation.

The DUH aims to ensure that even billion-dollar companies like Apple provide "honest and verifiable information" about the actual environmental impact of their products. The organization has been active in pursuing environmental misconduct cases, as demonstrated by its recent lawsuit against Apple.

The ruling is not final, and Apple could appeal to the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt within one month. Despite the court ruling, Apple has announced it will continue its climate protection efforts.