Government Hears Greenwashing
Greenwashing – that act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental benefits of a product or service or the environmental practices of a company – is being taken seriously by government and the public alike. Greenwashing has become so rampant, it seems, that it has become a matter of legal consequence.
In an earlier blog, we mentioned that Scot Case recently presented his personal opinion on how greenwashing is eroding consumer trust to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection as part of a hearing this past June around fair green marketing practices.
Case described how the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alone is not equipped to define “green” and he stressed the importance of having a single, unifying environmental leadership label for U.S. consumers to easily identify environmentally preferable goods and services.
The FTC also recently filed three complaints against Kmart Corp., Tender Corp., and Dyna-E International over false claims of product biodegradability. At issue for the FTC were the misleading claims of biodegradability, showing that these companies did not follow the recommendations of their Green Guides. According to the FTC, claims of biodegradability should only be used if there is scientific evidence showing that the product would biodegrade under normal disposal methods in a reasonably short period of time.
In Canada, the Competition Bureau is taking action against greenwashing by working with seven Canadian hot tub and spa retailers to correct false claims that their Dynasty Spas products were associated with the ENERGY STAR program.
Consumer advocacy groups are also filing lawsuits. S.C. Johnson was under fire for its Green List and Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive have also received flack for lack of transparency with ingredients in their green products.
Companies looking to win business based on their products’ green attributes will certainly want to continue promoting these important points of differentiation while being careful to get the marketing messages right. When in doubt, seek out the experts.
The discussions around a national eco-label continue, but are still in the idea phase. In the absence of one comprehensive eco-labeling program, eco-labels such as EcoLogo and Green Seal offer the most transparent, open and public standard development processes consistent with international standard-setting protocols. As of now, obtaining this type of certification is also completely voluntary.