On October 1, 2012 the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published final guidelines for businesses that market their products as “green” or environmentally friendly. The guidelines are not rules, but they do set out the agency’s views of what type of environmental claims the agency might find deceptive under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. It is anticipated that, with the release of the green guides, there will be an increase in FTC enforcement action, and an increase in actions between competitors to enforce compliance. The new guidelines, which have not been revised since 1998, direct marketers to focus on the life cycle of a product before making a claim for environmental benefit.

For more information, please contact Phillip Hoover or Josie Nackers.