The FTC should update its Green Guides.
Last summer, the
Federal Trade Commission charged four companies with falsely stating that some of their "bamboo" clothing and textile products were "antimicrobial, made in an environmentally friendly manner, or biodegradable." The agency was relying on its
Green Guides—formally the "Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims"—for the
definition of the claims about those textiles. (Learn more about the FTC's actions in our "
Buzzword: Bamboo-zle.")
But the Green Guides, which establish green guidelines for companies to follow without
greenwashing consumers, haven't been updated since 1998 and don't reflect some newer green claims like "sustainable" and "renewable."
The Green Guides are currently under review,
as we reported last year. But more than two years after the agency initially announced its review process, no decision has been made about whether an update will actually happen.
Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports and the Home & Garden blog, believes it's time for an update. In 2008, CU participated in the FTC's Green Guides review process by providing
comments on carbon offsets (PDF) and a presentation on
bamboo textiles (PDF).
"We need the FTC to be vigilant in guarding the marketplace from the wild west of green claims so that credible programs can effectively compete with one another, and most importantly, so consumers are not misled," says Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., director of technical policy for Consumers Union.
—Kristi Wiedemann
