Oct. 7, 2010

The Federal Trade Commission released proposed revisions to the Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, or Green Guide, to prevent companies from "greenwashing" products with misleading claims of environmental friendliness.The proposal calls for the elimination of vague claims that cannot be substantiated, like "green" and "eco-friendly;" for details and facts about degradable, compostable and recyclable materials; perimeters for labeling a product as made with renewable energy or materials, "non-toxic" or "free off" harmful substances.

Director of the Erb Institute and SNRE professor Thomas Lyon was quoted in the New York Times about the potential impact of the guidelines.

The Green Guides were last updated in 1998.The current review began in 2007.

A press release with links to the proposal can be found here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/10/greenguide.shtm

The commission is soliciting comments from the public about the guidelines. Info on how to submit feedback can be found here: https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/revisedgreenguides/