Regulating Sustainable Consumption: Biodegradable Polymers, Consumer Rights, and Plastic Pollution

Abstract

Plastic pollution has become a defining test of whether law can steer consumption toward sustainability. Biodegradable polymers are often promoted as a technological fix, yet their environmental benefit depends on disposal conditions, standards, infrastructure and, critically, on what consumers are told and are able to do. This review examines the intersection of material science, consumer protection and environmental regulation. It synthesises evidence on the scale of plastic pollution, the real-world degradation performance of biodegradable and compostable plastics, the terminology and standards that underpin labelling, and the regulatory instruments now in force in the European Union, India, the United States, United Kingdom and under the emerging global plastics treaty process. The review argues that "biodegradable" claims create an information asymmetry that engages consumer rights to accurate information, redress and safe, sustainable choice, and that legal regimes remain fragmented between product regulation, waste law and advertising law. Future directions include outcome-based claim substantiation, standardised disposal labelling, extended producer responsibility linked to actual end-of-life infrastructure, digital product passports, and a consumer-rights framing within international plastics governance.