In the Netherlands, a greenwashing lawsuit against airline KLM challenging its misleading advertising has been granted permission to proceed to a full hearing by a Dutch court.
The lawsuit – the first of its kind to challenge airline industry greenwashing – argues that KLM’s climate ads and offset marketing breach EU consumer law standards by creating a false impression that its flights do not contribute to the worsening climate emergency.
The District Court of Amsterdam has granted permission for Dutch campaigners Fossielvrij and Reclame Fossielvrij to bring the claim, following a hearing in April on the organisations’ admissibility. The decision establishes for the first time that an environmental non-profit can bring a greenwashing claim under the recently passed Dutch class action law.
It comes after KLM informed the judge that it had dropped its ‘Fly Responsibly’ advertisements, which were challenged by the lawsuit.
