Marketing in the “Green Zone”
Legal Pitfalls of Environmental Benefit Claims
Marketing trends follow social trends, and as society goes green, so go marketers who wish to appeal to the masses. More and more, consumers wish to buy products that either benefit the environment, or have a lower negative impact on the environment than their competitors or predecessors.
Following this trend, marketers are looking to place their products in the “Green Zone.” It’s now seen as a distinct advantage to be able to market a product as “environmentally friendly,” “made from recycled materials” or as “containing x% more recycled material.” If stated accurately, with the existence of appropriate substantiation and with appropriate disclosure, these statements can be powerful marketing tools. But cross the line or fail to check out the claims, and as a marketer you may find yourself attracting the attention of the FTC.
If you’re doing marketing in a vertical that’s using environmental marketing claims (such as recycled toner cartridges), then you’d be wise to familiarize yourself with the FTC’s Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims. You can read the full guide at this link: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides980427.htm The Guides are quite detailed and should provide you with a clear roadmap to legal compliance in the Green Zone.
Here are some specific items to be aware of.
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Qualifications and Disclosure. As in any area of marketing, if you need to add qualifications or disclosures, the FTC expects them to be “clear and conspicuous.” That means, don’t hide them. If someone has to search to find your disclosure, it’s not good enough.
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Distinction between Product, Package and Service. An environmental marketing claim should be presented in a way that makes clear whether the environmental attribute or benefit being asserted refers to the product, the product's packaging, a service or to a portion or component of the product, package or service.
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Overstatement of environmental attribute: An environmental marketing claim should not be presented in a manner that overstates the environmental attribute or benefit, expressly or by implication. Marketers should avoid implications of significant environmental benefits if the benefit is in fact negligible.
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Comparative claims: Environmental marketing claims that include a comparative statement should be presented in a manner that makes the basis for the comparison sufficiently clear to avoid consumer deception. In addition, the advertiser should be able to substantiate the comparison.
Much more detail is available at the link provided above for the FTC’s website. The detail includes the majority of possible types of environmental claims, along with many examples of claims that would and would not be considered misleading.
Compliance is all about taking the appropriate precautions to protect your long term business as an online marketer. The FTC is here to help, and they freely provide much of the detail you need to safely take advantage of online marketing in the Green Zone. I suggest that you take advantage of what’s available, and keep your marketing clean and environmentally friendly!
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Come back to the iLegal column every week as we get specific about the rules, regulations, laws and trends that affect the online advertising industry. Each week we discuss important legal issues, talk about how to avoid the pitfalls, and cover the breaking legal and regulatory advertising industry news.
Legal Disclaimer: Information conveyed in this column is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Digital Moses, and is not guaranteed to be complete, correct, or up-to-date. The column is provided for "information purposes" only and should not be relied upon as "legal advice." This information is not intended to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney. No person should act or rely on any information in this column without seeking the advice of an attorney.
Mark Meckler is the General Counsel for UniqueLeads.com, Inc., and Unique Lists, Inc.
Copyright 2007 Mark J. Meckler
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