FTC's Final Revised Green Guides

On October 1, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission published its long awaited final revisions to its green advertising guides. The Green Guides outline general principles that apply to all environmental advertising claims. They also provide specific guidance about how consumers are likely to interpret particular claims and how such claims can be qualified to avoid consumer deception. The Green Guides were last updated in 1998 and proposed revisions were issued for public comment in 2010. 

The final guidelines track much of the advice and guidance from the 2010 proposed guides. However, the final guidelines contain new sections on:

1. Certifications and seals of approval
2. Carbon offsets
3. Free-of claims
4. Non-toxic claims
5. Made with renewable energy claims
6. Made with renewable materials claims