Apple Watch not a ‘CO2-neutral product,’ German court rules

A German court ruled on Tuesday that Apple cannot market its Apple Watch as a “CO2-neutral product” in Germany, siding with plaintiffs who argued the claim was misleading. The Frankfurt regional court found Apple’s online promotion of the device as “our first CO2-neutral product” to be baseless and in breach of German competition law.
Rachel More for Reuters:
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In June, Apple had said the German lawsuit threatens “to discourage the kind of credible corporate climate action the world needs.”
Still, a spokesperson referred on Tuesday to a report that Apple will phase out the ‘carbon neutral’ label it uses for Apple Watches in order to comply with EU legislation coming into force in September 2026 restricting the use of such terms.
Apple based its claim of carbon neutrality on a project it operates in Paraguay to offset emissions by planting eucalyptus trees on leased land.
The eucalyptus plantations have been criticised, opens new tab by ecologists, who claim that such monocultures harm biodiversity and require high water usage, earning them the nickname ‘green deserts.’

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MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote back in February:
“I will buy no smartwatch whose production feeds trees and plants” is an interesting purchasing criterion.

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