he proliferation of environmental marketing terms continues to grow and expand. As a consumer of products, both industrial and commercial, it is becoming increasingly difficult to wade through the words as well as discern the true meaning behind the words used. Is a “green” product better than one that is “environmentally friendly?” Believe it or not these descriptions have been used for many years. The primary guidelines for environmental marketing are offered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in its “Green Guides for Marketing.”
The FTC seeks to prevent deception and unfairness in the marketplace. The FTC Act gives the Commission the power to bring law enforcement actions against false or misleading marketing claims, including environmental or “green” marketing claims. The FTC issued its Environmental Guides, often referred to as the “Green Guides” in 1992, and revised them most recently in 1998. The Guides indicate how the Commission will apply Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices, to environmental marketing claims.
The FTC’s Environmental Guides are “administrative interpretations of laws administered by the Commission for the guidance of the public in conducting its affairs in conformity with legal requirements.” These Guides apply to all forms of marketing for products and services: advertisements, labels, package inserts, promotional materials, words, symbols, logos, product brand names, and marketing through digital or electronic media, such as the Internet or email. They apply to any claim, express or implied, about the environmental attributes of a product, package or service in connection with the sale, offering for sale or marketing of the product, package or service for personal, family or household
use, or for commercial, institutional or industrial use.
These guides provide guidance to both the manufacturer as well as the consumer of the product in question. Use of terms such as biodegradable, recyclable, environmentally friendly, as well as compostable are addressed. Examples are offered to provide guidance.
The FTC has embarked on an ambitious undertaking to review and revise these guidelines. The Commission continues to hold workshops on issues such as carbon footprinting; sustainable packaging, textiles, and green buildings. At this time, it is unclear as to when the Commission will be releasing new guidance.
The flip side to environmental marketing is “Greenwashing”, the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. In 2007, TerraChoice Environmental conducted a survey of six category leading big box stores. Further, the surveys identified 1,018 consumer products bearing 1,753 environmental claims. Based on the survey results, six patterns in green washing were identified – now commonly referred to as the Six Sins of Greenwashing. Their survey findings suggest that greenwashing is pervasive and the consequences significant. The six sins have been quantified as follows:
Sin of Hidden Trade-Off
Sin of No Proof
Sin of Vagueness
Sin of Irrelevance
Sin of Lesser of Two Evils
Sin of Fibbing
The Federal Trade Commission’s guidance helps combat these Six Sins of Greenwashing. Further, the launching of the Sustainable Green Printing Partnership, www.sgppartnership.org, should quell a bit of the greenwashing and introduce a benchmark of sustainability for our industry sector.
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