Selling of Cleaner Greener Products. Really?

For the first time since 1998, the Federal Trade Commission is updating its Green Guides for environmental marketing claims. The Green Guides are meant to define terms and standardize claims made about a product’s impact on the environment. The Green Guides gives the FTC the right to prosecute businesses for misleading environmental claims under Section 5 of the FTC Act.

The changes to the Green Guides come in response to the profitable surge of “green” marketing. Claims of “sustainable” and “carbon neutral” have entered the language but the FTC had no standard definition of these and other such terms. Some marketers have taken advantage of this lapse by exaggerating the eco-friendliness of a product - a practice known as “greenwashing.”

Though the specifics of the FTC updates have not yet been made public, the changes to the Green Guides are expected to help curb confusing and misleading claims in the current marketing landscape. Possible changes may include:

• Stricter requirements for proof of environmental-friendliness
• Advisement against unqualified seals of approval or other official-looking certifications
• Explanation of how consumers are likely to interpret terms such as “degradable,” “compostable,” or “free of” a particular substance
• Guidelines regarding the new and largely unregulated carbon offset market

It’s hard to quantify how much these corporate claims impact profits. From automobile to textile manufacturers, household cleaning products, and service industries like airlines and hotels, it is clear from today’s advertising that projecting an environmentally friendly picture is now considered an essential business practice. The FTC revisions may help separate fact from fiction.

How can consumers be sure what they’re buying has a low environmental impact? What would FTC guidelines mean for the development of the emerging carbon offset market? What else can consumers do to reduce their impact?