Advisory Lawyer Case | Greenwashing and Compliance Advisory for a Food Company

We introduce an advisory attorney's case of greenwashing and compliance advisory.

‘Greenwashing’ refers to a labeling or advertising practice that misleads consumers into believing that a product or service is environmentally friendly without any substantive environmentally friendly activity.

According to the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute, greenwashing has been detected about 23 times more often over the past 4 years, and the industries in which it has been detected have expanded beyond the existing chemical and manufacturing sectors to consumer goods in general, including food and household products.

The food industry is no exception.

According to a report published in 2023 by the Dutch environmental organization ‘Changing Markets Foundation,’ the field where greenwashing was most serious was the food industry, including the meat and dairy sectors.

Many instances of erroneous environmental claims, such as ‘eco-friendly packaging,’ ‘carbon-reducing manufacturing process,’ and ‘sustainable raw materials,’ are found in marketing phrases and promotional materials presented through food labels and advertising.

Companies must base their marketing phrases on scientific and objective supporting evidence and must not omit or distort essential information.

The food company client that came to the firm's advisory attorney likewise requested legal advisory in order to prepare for the possibility of an investigation by relevant regulatory authorities, such as the Ministry of Environment and the Fair Trade Commission, regarding environmental labeling of product packaging and containers.

The advisory attorney noted that as ESG management has emerged as a core element of corporate competitiveness, external monitoring and regulation of it have become more precise and persistent, and accordingly provided legal advisory so that brand credibility and corporate sustainability would not face a crisis due to greenwashing controversy.

Through collaboration with corporate attorneys well versed in environmental law and the Act on Fair Labeling and Advertising, attorneys specializing in the Monopoly Regulation and Fair Trade Act, and other industry-specific specialists, this firm formed an advisory attorney task force and provided greenwashing advisory services to a food company.

• Review of the legality of environmental labeling and advertising wording
• Advisory on preparing substantiating data
• Establishment of an internal compliance system
• Provision of online and offline training for executives and employees

Greenwashing risk in the food industry is not resolved through simple wording adjustments or one-time training.

Even a single phrase such as "eco-friendly packaging" requires complex legal review, and the effect that such a phrase has on the overall brand image is also significant.

This firm's advisory attorneys provided comprehensive legal advisory so that the corporate client could autonomously recognize greenwashing issues internally and establish a practical response system through interdepartmental collaboration.

As in this case, we encourage you to closely monitor ESG-related laws and regulatory trends together with the advisory attorneys of the corporate legal affairs group and to thoroughly support the legality of environmental management and advertising labeling.

If you require advisory related to greenwashing, please leave a 🔗legal consultation appointment with Daeryun, Korea's 9th-ranked law firm (based on 2025 value-added tax filings with the National Tax Service), at any time.