Gaps and Recommendations for Developing Thailand's Greenwashing Legal Framework: An Analysis of Misleading Environmental Claims Compared with Case Studies in the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom

Abstract

Greenwashing refers to the practice by which businesses exploit environmental issues in marketing communications through misleading, vague, or unverifiable claims, thereby causing consumer misunderstanding and undermining genuine efforts to protect the environment. Although Thailand has consumer protection and advertising laws that can, in theory, be applied to address greenwashing, such practices continue to occur in practice. This persistence reflects structural limitations within the existing legal framework and its enforcement mechanisms.

This study aims to examine the gaps and structural constraints of Thailand’s legal framework for preventing and regulating greenwashing, with a particular focus on misleading environmental claims. The findings are comparatively analyzed alongside the legal frameworks and regulatory practices of the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom jurisdictions that demonstrate more advanced developments in anti-greenwashing regulation.

This research adopts a qualitative legal research methodology, combining documentary analysis of relevant legal materials with in-depth interviews with legal experts specializing in consumer protection and environmental law. Data from both sources are analyzed comparatively to explain enforcement mechanisms, evidentiary challenges, and the practical limitations of existing sanctions.

The findings reveal that the primary shortcomings of Thailand’s legal framework do not stem from a complete absence of applicable legal provisions, but rather from the lack of specific legislation on greenwashing, fragmented regulatory authority across multiple agencies, imbalanced burdens of proof, and sanctions that are insufficient to deter corporate misconduct effectively. In contrast, jurisdictions with more effective regulatory frameworks place greater emphasis on ex ante substantiation requirements, proactive enforcement mechanisms, and administrative sanctions with strong deterrent effects. Accordingly, this study proposes that Thailand should develop specific legislation on the prevention of greenwashing, alongside reforms to regulatory structures and enforcement mechanisms, in order to enhance consumer protection, promote transparency, and strengthen corporate accountability in a systematic manner.