Towards a Regulatory Instrument for the Green Economy: Green Trademarks and Associated Challenges

Abstract

Green trade marks face the conceptualisation challenge in terms of potential disconnection between the goodwill signalling function of the trade mark and the meaningful "greenness" embedded in the product. Between the two approaches to categorising green trade marks, the taxonomy approach (ordinary green trade marks) and the certification approach (green certification trade marks), green trade mark taxonomies should not be used as ex ante regulation as it may encourage greenwashing. For green trade marks to become a regulatory tool in a green economy, law reform is needed to maximise the goodwill signalling of green trade marks. Show more