US FTC seeks comments on potential updates, changes to Green Guides

“Consumers are increasingly conscious of how the products they buy affect the environment, and depend on marketers’ environmental claims to be truthful,” said Bureau of Consumer Protection director Samuel Levine in an FTC press release.

“We look forward to this review process, and will make any updates necessary to ensure the Green Guides provide current, accurate information about consumer perception of environmental benefit claims. This will both help marketers make truthful claims and consumers find the products they seek,” he said.

The Green Guides were first issued in 1992 and were revised in 1996, 1998, and 2012. They provide guidance on environmental marketing claims, including how consumers are likely to interpret particular claims and how marketers can substantiate these claims to avoid deceiving consumers.

FTC has sought general comments on the continuing need for the guides, their economic impact, their effect on the accuracy of various environmental claims, and their interaction with other environmental marketing regulations. It has also requested information on consumer perception evidence of environmental claims, including those not in the guides currently.

Specific issues on which the FTC expects to get many public comments include carbon offsets and climate change; the terms ‘recyclable’ and ‘recycled content’; and the need for additional guidance.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)