FTC Revises Green Guides in Hopes of Reducing Green Washing

From the FTC website:

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.” – Read More

Here’s the link to the PDF Revised Guides: http://www.ftc.gov/os/2012/10/greenguides.pdf

It should be noted that the Guides are not rules or regulations, but principles that outline environmental claims that the FTC may find deceptive. The FTC has imposed fines and other actions against companies making deceptive claims.

What do you think? Do you think this will help prevent and reduce “Green Washing”?

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