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Apple Can No Longer Call Apple Watch 'Carbon Neutral' in Germany

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Apple is no longer allowed to advertise the Apple Watch as a carbon neutral product in Germany, reports Reuters. A regional court in Frankfurt, Germany decided that Apple is violating competition law with the claim.

apple-restore-fund.jpg

Environmentalists with Deutsche Umwelthilfe complained that Apple was misleading consumers by stating that the Apple Watch was a carbon neutral product, and the court ultimately agreed. The environmental group hailed the ruling as a win against "greenwashing."

Back in 2023, Apple said that the Apple Watch was one of its first carbon neutral devices, furthering its goal to make every product carbon neutral by the end of 2030.

Apple uses clean energy to manufacture the Apple Watch, and to reduce carbon emissions for Apple Watch manufacturing, it also uses 30 percent renewable material by weight and ships 50 percent of the devices without air transportation. Apple claims that this results in a 75 percent reduction in product emissions, with the company using "high-quality carbon credits" to address the remaining emissions.

Germany takes issue with the carbon credits that Apple is claiming are valid for neutralizing Apple Watch carbon emissions. Apple has established environmental projects under its Restore Fund, supporting forest restoration projects in Paraguay and Brazil.

Apple outlined the project back in 2024. It is working with Forestal Apepu to develop fast-growing eucalyptus forests for timber production on deforested lands, while also protecting remaining natural forest areas. Ecologists believe that monocultures like the one Apple is supporting harm biodiversity and require too much water.

Apple leases the land for its forest projects, and because many of the leases expire in 2029, the German court said that the future of the forest project was not secure.

An Apple spokesperson told Reuters that it plans to stop using the carbon neutral labeling for Apple Watches to comply with upcoming EU legislation.

Article Link: Apple Can No Longer Call Apple Watch 'Carbon Neutral' in Germany
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/08/26/apple-watch-carbon-neutral-germany/
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Reactions: purplefox, businesscats, antiprotest and 3 others
You can pay (often comically little) to a company to offset your carbon emissions. All this really means is paying a company to plant a few trees somewhere, or buying unused carbon allowances from others. In reality, no genuine reduction happens (beyond perhaps planting a few trees). It’s mostly a marketing exercise. Having this court ruling is a good step, but it’s nowhere near enough.
 
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Reactions: freedomlinux, Shirasaki, dduraznito and 37 others
"Apple leases the land for its forest projects, and because many of the leases expire in 2029, the German court said that the future of the forest project was not secure."

Ok, so the fact that in the future, the security of those credits are in question. That leads to the present day of it not being carbon neutral? What kind of minority reporting is this?
 
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Reactions: Olz, mazz0, Timpetus and 14 others
Does anyone actually care about the clown marketing labeling? If it's a useful product, people will buy it. If it's not, they won't.

MacRumors said:
Apple leases the land for its forest projects, and because many of the leases expire in 2029, the German court said that the future of the forest project was not secure.
Click to expand...
Because...Apple's going to go ahead and burn those forests on Dec 31, 2029 so they no longer exist? 🙄
 
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Reactions: mackiemesser97, Shirasaki, MasterControlProgram and 12 others
That's what you get when you try to please these people.

They are already happy, they just like to complain, they'll never be happy.

Other companies don't bother one bit with those things, still sell their watches, including to these people complaining.

This pushes companies to stick with what's barely legal and return the savings/profits to their investors.
 
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Reactions: Olz, Shirasaki, mazz0 and 9 others
Andres Cantu said:
Mother Nature will not be very pleased with these news 😆
Click to expand...
Thats the reason they recruited and ousted her, when she was making a fuzz about the products not being carbon neutral and product not durable (FineWoven). They shut her up and thought nobody would cry over it...except Germany.

Did not make sense anyway, changing watchband made it not eco-friendly according to Apple.
 
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SilmarilFinder said:
You can pay (often comically little) to a company to offset your carbon emissions. All this really means is paying a company to plant a few trees somewhere, or buying unused carbon allowances from others. In reality, no genuine reduction happens (beyond perhaps planting a few trees). It’s mostly a marketing exercise. Having this court ruling is a good step, but it’s nowhere near enough.
Click to expand...
Don't forget most trees do not get plant accordingly.
 
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Reactions: Shirasaki, paradox00, businesscats and 4 others
MacRumors said:


Apple is no longer allowed to advertise the Apple Watch as a carbon neutral product in Germany, reports Reuters. A regional court in Frankfurt, Germany decided that Apple is violating competition law with the claim.

apple-restore-fund.jpg

Environmentalists with Deutsche Umwelthilfe complained that Apple was misleading consumers by stating that the Apple Watch was a carbon neutral product, and the court ultimately agreed. The environmental group hailed the ruling as a win against "greenwashing."

Back in 2023, Apple said that the Apple Watch was one of its first carbon neutral devices, furthering its goal to make every product carbon neutral by the end of 2030.

Apple uses clean energy to manufacture the Apple Watch, and to reduce carbon emissions for Apple Watch manufacturing, it also uses 30 percent renewable material by weight and ships 50 percent of the devices without air transportation. Apple claims that this results in a 75 percent reduction in product emissions, with the company using "high-quality carbon credits" to address the remaining emissions.

Germany takes issue with the carbon credits that Apple is claiming are valid for neutralizing Apple Watch carbon emissions. Apple has established environmental projects under its Restore Fund, supporting forest restoration projects in Paraguay and Brazil.

Apple outlined the project back in 2024. It is working with Forestal Apepu to develop fast-growing eucalyptus forests for timber production on deforested lands, while also protecting remaining natural forest areas. Ecologists believe that monocultures like the one Apple is supporting harm biodiversity and require too much water.

Apple leases the land for its forest projects, and because many of the leases expire in 2029, the German court said that the future of the forest project was not secure.

An Apple spokesperson told Reuters that it plans to stop using the carbon neutral labeling for Apple Watches to comply with upcoming EU legislation.

Article Link: Apple Can No Longer Call Apple Watch 'Carbon Neutral' in Germany
Click to expand...
Keep them honest.
 
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Reactions: arkitect
Perhaps some folks would complain even if they were hung with a new rope?

Something about carbon being a basic building block in the back of my mind causing a furor off confusion about which or any folks actually know what they are talking about here. :eek:
 
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