The Commission seeks to update the guides based on increasing consumer interest in buying environmentally friendly products.
“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. “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.”
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.
The FTC is requesting 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. The commission also seeks 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 current Guides provide guidance on carbon offset and renewable energy claims. The Commission invites comments on whether the revised Guides should provide additional information on related claims and issues.The Term “Recyclable”
Among other things, the FTC seeks comments on whether it should change the current threshold that guides marketers on when they can make unqualified recyclable claims, as well as whether the Guides should address in more detail claims for products that are collected (picked up curbside) by r•The Term “Recycled Content”
Comments are requested on whether unqualified claims about recycled content – particularly claims related to “pre-consumer” and “post industrial” content – are widely understood by consumers, as well as whether alternative methods of substantiating recycled content claims may be appropriate; andThe Need for Additional Guidance
The Commission also seeks comment on the need for additional guidance regarding claims such as “compostable,” “degradable,” ozone-friendly,” “organic,” and “sustainable, as well as those regarding energy use and energy efficiency.
A list of recent cases brought relating to topics covered by the guides can be found on the FTC’s website.
The Commission vote approving the publication of a Federal Register notice announcing the opening of the public comment period was 4-0, with Chair Lina M. Khan issuing a separate statement.
Khan's statement included the following:
“People decide what to buy, or not to buy, for all kinds of reasons. One of those reasons increasingly seems to be environmental impact. Before making a purchase, many American consumers want to know how a product contributes to climate change, or pollution, or the spread of microplastics. Businesses have noticed. Walk down the aisle at any major store—you’re likely to see packages trumpeting their low carbon footprint, their energy efficiency, or their quoteunquote ‘sustainability.’ For the average consumer, it’s impossible to verify these claims. People who want to buy green products generally have to trust what it says on the box. That’s why it’s so important for companies making these claims to tell the truth. If they don’t, it distorts the market for environmentally friendly products. It puts honest companies, who bear the costs of green business practices, at a competitive disadvantage. And it harms consumers who want to make conscientious decisions about what products to buy and what businesses to support.”
You can access the full statement here.
The notice will be published in the Register in mid-January 2023, after which the FTC will accept comments for 60 days. Information about how to submit comments can be found in the Federal Register notice.