Environmental Protection meets Consumer Sales

Abstract

Abstract This article discusses the legal consequences of corporate market communication in the field of environmental protection in European consumer sales law. It analyses first the potential of such market communication to influence the seller’s obligations within a consumer contract. Second, it suggests that the assessment of such market communication as to its market fairness under European unfair commercial practices law may influence the assessment of the correct contract performance under the Consumer Sales Directive. Finally, the article focuses on the remedies that are available to the consumer against the seller in case of a breach of such a contractual environmental obligation. On this point, it is argued that the remedies under consumer sales law for the delivery of a non-conforming good need to be interpreted in the light of the public (environmental) purpose that can reasonably be expected by the consumer who is addressed by such environmental market communication.