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After years of pondering, FTC releases marketers’ Green Guides
October 2, 2012
After years of pondering, FTC releases marketers’ Green Guides
After nearly five years of deliberations, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finally issued the revised “Green Guide” aimed at helping marketers ensure that the claims they make about the environmental attributes of their products are truthful and non-deceptive.
The revision now includes updates to the existing guides as well as new sections on the use of carbon offsets, environmental certifications and seals, and renewable energy and renewable materials claims. The FTC also modified and clarified sections of the previous guides and provided new guidance on environmental claims that were not common when the guides were last reviewed.
Among other modifications, the guides caution marketers not to make broad, unqualified claims that a product is “environmentally friendly” or “eco-friendly” or “green” because the FTC’s consumer perception study confirms that such claims are likely to suggest that the product has specific and far-reaching environmental benefits. The commission notes, “Very few products, if any, have all the attributes consumers seem to perceive from such claims, making these claims nearly impossible to substantiate.”
FTC also released several business and consumer education resources designed to help users understand the Guides such as “Environemental Claims: Summary of Green Guides”and “The Green Guides, a video explaining the highlights of the changes”.
Read more at CleanBiz.
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