The Federal Trade Commission
issued revised “Green Guides” that are designed to help marketers ensure that
the claims they make about the environmental attributes of their products are
truthful and non-deceptive.
The revisions to the FTC’s Green
Guides reflect a wide range of public input, including hundreds of consumer and
industry comments on previously proposed revisions. They include updates to the existing Guides, as well as new
sections on the use of carbon offsets, “green” certifications and seals, and
renewable energy and renewable materials claims.
“The introduction of
environmentally friendly products into the marketplace is a win for consumers
who want to purchase greener products and producers who want to sell them,” said
FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “But this win-win can only occur if marketers’
claims are truthful and substantiated.
The FTC’s changes to the Green Guides will level the playing field for
honest business people and it is one reason why we had such broad support.”
In revising the Green Guides, the
FTC 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” 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. Very few
products, if any, have all the attributes consumers seem to perceive from such
claims, making these claims nearly impossible to substantiate.
The Guides also advise marketers
not to make an unqualified degradable claim for a solid waste product unless
they can prove that the entire product or package will completely break down
and return to nature within one year after customary disposal.
The Guides caution that items
destined for landfills, incinerators, or recycling facilities will not degrade
within a year, so marketers should not make unqualified degradable claims for
these items; and the Guides clarify guidance on compostable, ozone, recyclable,
recycled content, and source reduction claims.
The Guides contain new sections
on: 1) certifications and seals of approval; 2) carbon offsets, 3) free-of
claims, 4) non-toxic claims, 5) made with renewable energy claims, and 6) made
with renewable materials claims.
The new section on certifications
and seals of approval, for example, emphasizes that certifications and seals
may be considered endorsements that are covered by the FTC’s Endorsement
Guides, and includes examples that illustrate how marketers could disclose a
“material connection” that might affect the weight or credibility of an
endorsement. In addition, the Guides caution marketers not to use environmental
certifications or seals that don’t clearly convey the basis for the
certification, because such seals or certifications are likely to convey
general environmental benefits.
Finally, either because the FTC
lacks a sufficient basis to provide meaningful guidance or wants to avoid
proposing guidance that duplicates or contradicts rules or guidance of other
agencies, the Guides do not address use of the terms “sustainable,” “natural,”
and “organic.” Organic claims made for textiles and other products derived from
agricultural products are covered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
National Organic Program.
The FTC first issued its Green
Guides in 1992 to help marketers avoid making misleading environmental claims.
It revised the Guides in 1996 and 1998, and proposed further revisions in
October 2010 to take into account recent changes in the marketplace. The
guidance they provide includes general principles that apply to all
environmental marketing claims; how consumers are likely to interpret
particular claims, and how marketers can substantiate these claims; and how
marketers can qualify their claims to avoid deceiving consumers.
The Guides issued today take into
account nearly 340 unique comments and more than 5,000 total comments received
since the FTC released the proposed revised Guides in the fall of 2010. They also include information gathered
from three public workshops and a study of how consumers perceive and
understand environmental claims.
The Green Guides are not agency
rules or regulations. Instead,
they describe the types of environmental claims the FTC may or may not find
deceptive under Section 5 of the FTC Act. Under Section 5, the agency can take
enforcement action against deceptive claims, which ultimately can lead to
Commission orders prohibiting deceptive advertising and marketing and fines if
those orders are later violated.
The FTC has brought several
actions in recent years related to deceptive recyclability, biodegradable, and
environmental certification claims as part of its overall effort to ensure that
environmental marketing is truthful and substantiated.
The FTC also released several business and
consumer education resources designed to help users understand the Guides. These include: 1) “Environmental Claims
– Summary of Green Guides,” a four-page summary of the changes in the Guides;
2) “The Green Guides,” a video explaining highlights of the changes; 3) a new
page on the FTC Business Center, with links to legal documents, the Guides and
other “green” content; 4) a Business Center blog post; and 5) related consumer
information.
