“Greenwashing” typically refers to marketing and advertising claims that are based on environmental puffery rather than performance. Experience indicates that many claims, even those from sophisticated multinationals, fall under the “greenwashing” banner. While such claims may seem to make sense over the short-term, they create long-term potential for consumer dissatisfaction, regulatory challenges, and even monetary damages.
While standards differ globally, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations are a good model to follow virtually anywhere in the world. Listed below are the four factors of most concern to the FTC regarding advertising claims of all types, but specifically environmental claims.
1. Specificity
The single most important point to remember when making claims is to be as specific as possible. Doing so will require that claims be substantiated by communicating all of the following:
- What is being claimed (e.g., Reduced energy consumption during production…)
- By how much – (e.g., …by 12%)
- Compared to what – (e.g., …versus the previous product formulation.)
Claims that are general or vague are not only considered to be meaningless, the FTC considers them to be deceptive. Technically, this means claims that appear to be simple and harmless, such as “eco-friendly” and “green,” are actually open to scrutiny and legal action.
Read the complete article at Environmental Leader
A full analysis of FTC environmental marketing claims by ULS Editor Bob Lilienfeld can be found at http://www.use-less-stuff.com/resources.htm