By Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson

Many appliances are being sold with vague and unsubstantiated environmental claims in Australia, a study has found, and most consumers are buying into them. 

The Consumer Policy Research Centre on Friday urged the government to introduce a repair rating system to tackle the issue in Australia, similar to a scheme operating in France.

The organisation made the call as part of its submission to the Productivity Commission’s circular economy inquiry that is expected to report its interim findings early next year.

The centre investigated appliance sustainability claims by surveying online stores and 120 retail shops in five states.

The researchers looked at appliances including refrigerators, washing machines, clothes dryers, air conditioners, electric ovens and heaters, and held eight focus groups on the issue.

It found 39 per cent of appliances were being marketed with vague environmentally friendly terms such as “eco,” “energy smart” and “respect for the planet,” along with unverified star ratings and comparisons to other products.

Despite their lack of evidence, the green claims were working on potential buyers, the centre’s senior research officer Marianne Campbell said, as the survey found 80 per cent responded positively to at least one marketing term.

“If you search for a washing machine online, you’ll be inundated with these words in the marketing material, with all the shades of green and images of trees and leaves,” she said.

“This all exists in the absence of proper data, proper evidence, proper substantiation (or) a regulated metric behind the use of these claims.”

While consumers appreciated energy ratings given to appliances, they struggled to identify more durable and sustainable options in stores, Ms Campbell told AAP, and would benefit from a repair rating scheme like those operated overseas.

The French Repairability Index, launched in 2021, gave appliances a score out of 10 and rated products based on the availability and price of spare parts, ease of disassembly and documentation.

A similar scheme could be introduced and run independently in Australia, Ms Campbell said, and would stop appliances being replaced unnecessarily and going to landfill, especially in regional areas where repairs were difficult to access.

“We talked to people in Cairns and Newcastle and they said that repairs are almost non-existent because there are no parts, there’s no availability, it’s really expensive,” she said.

“Instead of getting one part for a fridge, they feel like they have no other choice than buying a whole new fridge.”

The study’s findings came after the European Union announced a ban on “generic environmental claims” in advertising without proof, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a guide for businesses making environmental and sustainability claims.