German Court: Apple Watch advertising deceives customers

A court in the Frankfurt region of Germany has ruled that the Apple Watch is not a CO₂ neutral product, saying that previous advertising for the device had misled customers.

An Apple Watch product from Apple - Photo: REUTERS

Apple advertised the Apple Watch online as “our first _CO2- neutral product,” a regional court in Frankfurt said in a statement on August 26. However, the court concluded that this was a baseless advertisement and violated German competition law.

A CO ₂ neutral product is one whose entire lifecycle – from raw material extraction, manufacturing, use and disposal – does not add a net amount of carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) to the atmosphere. This is achieved by reducing emissions and offsetting unavoidable emissions through supporting certified climate projects.

Companies determine whether their products are _CO2 neutral by conducting a “life cycle assessment,” increasing energy efficiency including renewable energy, offsetting remaining emissions or buying carbon credits.

Apple's carbon neutrality claim is based on a project it's running in Paraguay to offset emissions by planting eucalyptus trees. However, a group of environmental activists has filed a lawsuit against Apple over its advertising for the Apple Watch.

They argue that eucalyptus monocultures are harmful to biodiversity and require large amounts of water, leading to them being called "green deserts".

The Frankfurt court also said that Apple's lease for the eucalyptus plantations was 75% indefinite after 2029 and the company could not be sure of the contract being renewed. "There is no certain future for the continuation of the reforestation project," the court argued.

An Apple spokesperson said the Frankfurt regional court's ruling "generally supports Apple's rigorous approach to carbon neutrality" and declined to comment on whether the company would appeal the ruling.

However, Apple said it would remove the " _CO2 neutral" label it uses for the Apple Watch to comply with EU regulations that are expected to come into effect in September 2026. In June, Apple said the German lawsuit threatened to "undermine the credible corporate climate action the world needs."

In addition to Apple, Meta and Microsoft have also invested in similar reforestation projects in Latin America in exchange for carbon credits.

DUY LINH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/toa-duc-apple-watch-quang-cao-lua-doi-khach-hang-20250826203301742.htm