TY - JOUR T1 - Green Is the New Black: The Rise of Green Marks and Possible Solutions to Greenwashing AU - Yatağan Özkan, Çiğdem AU - Dinçer Özbey, Berrin PY - 2023 DA - November DO - 10.26650/annales.2023.73.0006 JF - Annales de la Faculté de Droit d’Istanbul PB - İstanbul Üniversitesi WT - DergiPark SN - 0578-9745 SP - 183 EP - 206 IS - 73 LA - en AB - If a popularity contest were to occur among colors nowadays, green would be the winner by far. Fast and alarming global warming has created huge and obligatory changes to consumer habits. This has put some big burdens on companies to massively change their production processes. Due to a significant percentage of consumers having changed their purchasing habits, companies are taunted with being green, and they have started greenwashing practices to take advantage of consumers’ new habits without changing their corporate policies. The rise of greenwashing has caused an urgent need to protect consumers and the market. Both Turkish and foreign governments regulate certain markets such as food and agriculture and also bring certain restrictions in terms of advertisement law to eliminate deceptive images from being created in consumers’ eyes. However, the gap in green marks shows the urgent need to amend the trademark law approach to protect consumers from greenwashing and to safeguard the proper functioning of the market. This work first examines the definition of green marks and ecolabels, as well as their confusing concepts, followed by present regulations regarding different legal areas. Upon this, the study then discusses the urgent need to regulate trademark law regarding green marks and makes proposals for legislation in line with recent EU regulation proposals regarding green claims. KW - Trademarks KW - Misleading Consumers KW - Green Marks KW - Greenwashing KW - Ecolabels KW - Unfair Commercial Practices CR - Ahmed A. and Qureshi S., ‘Green Marketing: A Door To Sustainable Development’ (2019) 7(8) JAC: A Journal of Composition Theory 1979 - 1987 google scholar CR - Alnıaçık Ü., ‘Tüketicilerin Çevreye Duyarlılığı Ve Reklamlardaki Çevreci İddialar’ (2009) 18 google scholar CR - Kocaeli Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 48 - 79 google scholar CR - Arkan S., Marka Hukuku I (BTHAE 1997) google scholar CR - Arkan S., ‘Marka Tescil Başvurusunun Lisans Sözleşmesine Konu Olması-Bazı Sorunlar’ (2019) 35(3) Banka ve Ticaret Hukuku Dergisi 39 - 44 google scholar CR - Aslan Y., Tüketici Hukuku Dersleri (Ekin 2021) google scholar CR - Ayhan R. Çağlar H. Yıldız B. İmirlioğlu D., Sınai Mülkiyet Hukuku (Adalet 2021) google scholar CR - Bainbridge D., Intellectual Property (9th edn Pearson 2012) google scholar CR - Belson J., ‘Ecolabels: Ownership, Use, and the Public Interest’ (2012) 7(2) Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice 96 - 106 google scholar CR - Belson J., ‘Environmental Trademarks’ (2014) 104(3) The Trademark Reporter 822 - 826 google scholar CR - Berrone P. Fosfuri A. and Liliana Gelabert, ‘Does Greenwashing Pay Off? Understanding Between Environmental Actions and Environmental Legitimacy’ (2017) 144(2) Journal of Business Ethics 363 - 379 google scholar CR - Birpınar M. E. Atay S. and Yetiş Ü., ‘Sürdürülebilir Üretim ve Tüketimde Eko-Etiketlerin Önemi: Türkiye Çevre Etiket Sistemi’ (2023) 3 Çevre Şehir ve İklim Dergisi 60 - 81 google scholar CR - Eminoglu C., ‘The Principle of Uniqueness of Trademark Owner and the Examination of This Principle in the Context of Its Transfer (an Assessment in Context of the Decision of the Constitutional Court That Cancelled the Article 16/5 of the Decree No. 556)’ (2016) 1 YBHD 229 - 254 google scholar CR - Ende L. Reinhard M.A. and Göritz L., ‘Detecting Greenwashing! The Influence of Products Colour and Product Price on Consumers’ Detection Accuracy of Faked Bio-fashion’ (2023) 46 Journal of Consumer Policy 155 - 189 google scholar CR - Engels G. and Grubler U., ‘Sustainable Brands, Eco-Labels and the New EU Certification Mark’, (2017) 264 Managing Intellectual Property 88 - 91 google scholar CR - Eşiyok E., ‘Türkiye’de Reklamların Denetimi: Reklam Kurulu Kararları Üzerinden Bir İnceleme’ (2018) 9/2 İnönü Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi 593 - 606 google scholar CR - Gallicano T.D., ‘A Critical Analysis of Greenwashing Claims’ (2011) 5(3) The Public Relations Journal 1 - 21 google scholar CR - Gürbüz Güngör E., ‘Tüketicilerin Çevre Konusundaki Duyarlılığına Yönelik Reklamların Hukuki Açıdan İncelenmesi’ (2021) 12(1) Ege Stratejik Araştırmalar Dergisi 21-50 google scholar CR - Heh W., ‘Who Certifies the Ceritifers?’ (2015) 16(4) Vermont Journal of Environmental Law 688 - 715 google scholar CR - Hetu J. M. and Owen Kramer A., ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green: Use of the Terms Organic, Sustainable, and Natural in Trademarks and Advertising’ (2011) 4(1) Landslide 46 - 57 google scholar CR - Hotten R, ‘What is Volkswagen accused of?’ (bbc.com, 10 December 2015) <https://www.bbc. com/news/business-34324772> accessed 31 July 2023 google scholar CR - Innaou I., Kassinis G., Papagiannakis G., “The Impact of Percieved Greenwashing on Customer Satisfaction and the Contingent Role of Capability Reputation” (2023) 185 Journal of Business Ethics 333 - 347 google scholar CR - Iraldo F. Griesshammer R. and Kahlenborn W., ‘The Future of Ecolables’ (2020) 25 The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 833 - 839 google scholar CR - Jain S. and Hagenbeek O., ‘2022 Global Sustainability Study: The Growth Potential of Environmental Change’ (simon-kucher.com, 23 October 2022) <https://www.simon-kucher. com/en/insights/2022-global-sustainability-study-growth-potential-environmental-change > accessed 30 July 2023 google scholar CR - Jessop S. Dickie G. and Mallet B., ‘Environmental groups sue TotalEnergies over climate marketing claims’ (reuters.com, 3 March 2022) <https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/ environmental-groups-sue-totalenergies-over-climate-marketing-clyani yaims-2022-03-03/> accessed 31 July 2023 google scholar CR - Kara İ.,Tüketici Hukuku, (Engin, 2015) google scholar CR - Kaya A., Marka Hukuku (Arıkan 2006) google scholar CR - Kraus D., ‘Green Marketing - ein Ansatz nachhaltiger Unternehmensführung aus Sicht des Marketings’ (2018) 4 Erfurter Hefte Zum Angewandten Marketing 1 - 42 google scholar CR - Koyuncu A. Ç., Tüketici Hukuku Çerçevesinde Haksız Ticari Uygulamalar (Seçkin Yayıncılık, 2022) google scholar CR - Lindberg S., ‘Aftonbladet’s investigation into H&M’s recycling in 9 points’ (aftonbladet.se, 13 June 2023) <https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/jlME1e/aftonbladet-investigation-into-h-m-s-recycling-airtags-in-items> accessed 31 July 2023 google scholar CR - McQueen C. L., ‘Certified Green: Using Subsets of Trademark law to Bring Legitimacy to the Eco-Friendly Products Market’ (2016) 7(2) Journal of Animal & Environmental 100 - 124 google scholar CR - Mogyoros A., ‘Improving eco-labels: are green certification marks up to the task?’ (2023) 18(5) Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice 367 - 374 google scholar CR - Pattie K. Cane A., ‘Green Marketing: legend, myth, farce or propesy?’ (2005) 8(4) Qualitative Market Research 357 - 370 google scholar CR - Rusko M. and Koraus A., ‘Type I, II and III of Ecolabels’ (2013) 2(1) Journal of Environmental Protection, Safety, Education and Management 1 - 10 google scholar CR - Sheehan K., ‘This Ain’t Your Daddy’s Greenwashing: An Assessment of the American Petroleum Institute’s Power Past Impossible Campaign’ (2018) Intellectual Property and Clean Energy 301 - 321 google scholar CR - Şişman Aydın G., ‘Eko-Etiketleme ve Türkiye Çevre Etiketi’ (2019) 4(1) Harran Üniversitesi Mühendislik Dergisi, 40 - 47 google scholar CR - Tekinalp Ü, Fikri Mülkiyet Hukuku (Vedat 2012) google scholar CR - Thiele L., Systemic Accumulation and Cost Re-Externalizations in the Green Economy (1st edn Freie Universitaet Berlin (Germany) ProQuest Dissertations Publishing 2020) google scholar CR - Uzunallı S., Avrupa Birliği’ne Uyum Sürecinde Markanın Köken Ayırt Etme İşlevi ile Bağlantılı Kavramların Yorumu ’Köken Ayırt Etme’ (Çağa 2008) google scholar CR - Watson T., ‘Green Marketing: It’s not All Bunnies and Flowers’ (2010) 27(6) Intellectual Property Law 34 - 35 google scholar CR - Zevkliler A./Özel Ç, Tüketicinin Korunması Hukuku (Seçkin 2016 google scholar CR - ‘Buying Green for Consumers’ <https://www.epa.gov/greenerproducts/buying-green-consumers> accessed 3 August 2023 google scholar CR - ‘Companies Accused of Greenwashing-When companies green it, they better mean it’ (truthindadvertising.org, 13 June 2023) <https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/companies-accused-greenwashing/> accessed 02 August 2023 google scholar CR - ‘Eco-label index’ < https://www.ecolabelindex.com/ > accessed 3 August 2023 google scholar CR - European Commision Directorate General Environement Circular Economy, Sustainable Production and Consumption ‘Strategic EU Eco-label, Work Plan 2020 - 2024’ 2020, 3 < https://ec.europa. eu/environment/ecolabel/documents/EU%20Ecolabel%20Work%20plan%202020-2024%20 Dec%202020.pdf> accessed 9 August 2023 google scholar CR - Introduction to Ecolabels and Standards for Greener Products (epa.gov 12 September 2022) <https://www.epa.gov/greenerproducts/introduction-ecolabels-and-standards- google scholar CR - greener-products#:~:text=standards%20and%20ecolabels-,What%20is%20 an%20ecolabel%3F,therefore%20deemed%20%E2%80%9Cenvironmentally%20 preferable%E2%80%9D.> accessed 31 July 2023 google scholar CR - ISO 14024:1999 Environmental labels and declarations — Type I environmental labelling — Principles and procedures (iso.org, March 1999) <https://www.iso.org/standard/23145.html> accessed 1 August 2023 google scholar CR - ‘ISO 14024:1999 Environmental labels and declarations — Type I environmental labelling — Principles and procedures’ (iso.org, March 1999) <https://www.iso.org/standard/23145.html> accessed 1 August 2023 google scholar CR - ‘ISO 14024:2018(en), Environmental labels and declarations — Type I environmental labelling — Principles and procedures’ (iso.org, February 2018) <https://www.iso.org/standard/72458. html#:~:text=ISO%2014024%3A2018%20establishes%20the,for%20assessing%20and%20 demonstrating%20compliance.> art 3.1 google scholar CR - ‘ISO 14021:2016(en) Environmental labels and declarations — Self-declared environmental claims (Type II environmental labelling)’ (March 2016) < https://www.iso.org/standard/66652. html> accessed 1 August 2023 google scholar CR - ‘ISO 14025:2006(en) Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental declarations — Principles and procedures’ (July 2006) < https://www.iso.org/standard/38131.html> accessed 1 August 2023 google scholar CR - ‘Ecolabel with history’ < https://www.blauer-engel.de/en/blue-angel/our-label-environment/eco-label-history> accessed 2 August 2023 google scholar CR - ‘Life Cycle Assessment’ <https://www.eea.europa.eu/help/glossary/eea-glossary/life-cycle-assessment> accessed 1 August 2023 google scholar CR - ‘Meausuring Fashion, Environmental Impact of the Global Apparel and Footwear Industries Study’ <quantis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/measuringfashion_globalimpactstudy_full-report_ quantis_cwf_2018a.pdf> accessed 21 September 2023 google scholar CR - Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, <https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/ greenwash?q=greenwashing> accessed 30 July 2023 google scholar CR - ‘Rainforest Alliance’ <https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/> accessed 3 August 2023 google scholar CR - The Guideline For Environmental Claims In Advertising, (tuketici.ticaret.gov.tr, 2023) <https://tuketici.ticaret.gov.tr/data/63ada5bc13b876a1c8715f73/2023%C3%87evreye%20 %C4%B0li%C5%9Fkin%20Beyanlar%20%C4%B0%C3%A7eren%20Reklaml.pdf> accessed 31 July 2023 google scholar CR - Türk Patent ve Marka Kurumu Çevrimiçi Arama Motoru (turkpatent.gov.tr, August 2023) www.turkpatent.gov.tr/arastirma-yap?form=trademark> accessed 4 August 2023 google scholar CR - Turkish Republic Ministry of Trade, Çevreye İlişkin Beyanlar İçeren Reklamlar Hakkında Kılavuz (tüketici.ticaret.gov.tr, August 2023) <https://tuketici.ticaret.gov.tr/ data/63ada5bc13b876a1c8715f73/2023Çevreye%20İlişkin%20Beyanlar%20İçeren%20 Reklaml.pdf> accessed 01 August 2023 google scholar CR - Turkish Trademark and Patent Office, Marka İnceleme Kılavuzu (turkpatent.gov.tr, August 2023) <https://www.turkpatent.gov.tr/duyurular/marka-inceleme-kilavuzu-guncellendi-18082021> accessed 01 August 2023. google scholar CR - ‘Yeşil Mutabakat Eylem Planı ve Yeşil Mutabakat Çalışma Grubu 2022 Faaliyet Raporu’ (ticaret. gov.tr 2022) < https://ticaret.gov.tr/data/643ffd6a13b8767b208ca8e4/YMEP%202022%20 Faaliyet%20Raporu.pdf> accessed 31 July 2023. google scholar UR - https://doi.org/10.26650/annales.2023.73.0006 L1 - https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/3324761 ER -