The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on retailers who make deceptive claims about the “greenness” of their products.  On Friday, December 18, 2009, the FTC released four finalized consent orders dealing with companies that have made deceptive and unsubstantiated claims that their products are environmentally friendly.  As the agency continues to revise its environmental marketing guidelines, these consent orders make clear that the FTC will continue to sanction companies that make false or misleading claims about the eco-friendly nature of their products.

“Biodegradable” Claims

Two of the consent orders released relate to companies who the FTC said falsely claimed that their products biodegrade.  Dyna-E International, Inc., maker of Lightload Towels, advertised their ultra-light travel towels as biodegradable.  Similarly, Pure Bamboo, LLC, the makers of bamboo fiber linens and bathrobes, also claimed that their products biodegrade.

The FTC’s current environmental marketing guidelines state that it is deceptive to claim that a product is biodegradable when it will not degrade in the environment in which it is normally disposed.  In the United States, over 90 percent of solid waste is put in a landfill, recycled, or incinerated.  Under any of these conditions, the Pure Bamboo and Lightload products do not biodegrade.  For this reason, the FTC found that the companies’ unqualified biodegradability claims were deceptive and misleading.  Under the approved consent orders, the companies must refrain from representing their products as biodegradable unless those claims are truthful, non-misleading, and supported by reliable scientific evidence.

“Green” Product Claims

Three of the recent consent orders address companies that claimed to sell bamboo textiles.  Pure Bamboo, LLC, Sami Designs, LLC, and CSE, Inc. all sell products that they have claimed are made of bamboo fibers.  The companies made numerous “green” claims about their bamboo fiber fabric, describing it as eco-friendly, anti-microbial, and chemical-free, among other things. 

In fact, all of the textiles in questions are made of rayon.  Rayon is a synthetic fabric that is derived from vegetable cellulose.  It is possible to make rayon from many raw materials, including bamboo; however, federal law requires that rayon material is labeled as such, not as the raw material from which it is derived.  Additionally, making rayon requires treatment with hazardous chemicals to convert the raw material into a usable fabric. Any anti-microbial properties native to raw bamboo are destroyed by the process of making rayon.

For these reasons, the FTC found that the companies’ green claims about their bamboo fabric were deceptive and misleading.  Under the approved consent orders, the companies must refrain from representing their products as eco-friendly, anti-microbial, or made from bamboo fibers unless those claims are truthful, non-misleading, and supported by reliable scientific evidence.

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The FTC first published its environmental marketing guidelines in 1992.  Since 2007, the agency has been revising the guidelines in order to more comprehensively address the expanding field of environmental marketing.  The four consent orders recently announced by the agency demonstrate that the federal government is proactively regulating environmental claims.  Companies that sell eco-friendly products are advised to seek legal counsel to ensure that their marketing strategies are in compliance with federal regulations.  To find out more about Arent Fox’s work in the area of environmental advertising, please contact:

Anthony V. Lupo
lupo.anthony@arentfox.com
202.857.6353

Matthew R. Mills
mills.matthew@arentfox.com
202.715.8582

Grace L. Applefeld
applefeld.grace@arentfox.com
202.857.6498