Today the FTC announced 'Prosposed' Revisions to the Green Guides and is seeking comments on these proposed revisions. Comments must be received by December 10, 2010.
Green Guides Summary of Proposal
- General Environmental Benefit (e.g., “green,” “eco-friendly”)
• Marketers should not make unqualified general environmental benefit claims. They are difficult, if not impossible, to substantiate. (The current Guides state that marketers can make unqualified claims if they can substantiate all express and implied claims. Otherwise, they should qualify the claim.)
• Qualifications should be clear and prominent, and should limit the claim to a specific benefit. Marketers should ensure the advertisement’s context does not imply deceptive environmental claims. (In the current Guides, this guidance appears only in examples.)
- Certifications and Seals of Approval
• This new section emphasizes that certifications/seals are endorsements covered by the Commission’s Endorsement Guides and provides new examples illustrating how those Guides apply to environmental claims (e.g., marketers should disclose material connections to the certifier). (The current Guides address certifications/seals in only one example in the general environmental benefit section. 16 CFR 260.7, Example 5.)
• Because an unqualified certification/seal (one that does not state the basis for certification) likely conveys a general environmental benefit claim, marketers should use clear and prominent language limiting the claim to particular attribute(s) for which they have substantiation. (This provision highlights guidance already provided in current Guides’ Example 5.)
• Third-party certification does not eliminate a marketer’s obligation to have substantiation for all conveyed claims.
Other areas covered in the proposed revisions include:
- Degradable
- Compostable
- Ozone-Safe/Ozone-Friendly
- Recyclable
- Free-of AND Non-Toxic
Proposed Guidance for Claims Not Currently Addressed by the Guides
- Made with Renewable Materials
- Made with Renewable Energy
- Carbon Offsets
Comments