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Bureau of Consumer Protection
Division of Enforcement
[date]
VIA EXPRESS MAIL
[CERTIFIER]
Dear __________:
The FTC enforces the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45, which
prohibits deceptive advertising. In 2012, the FTC issued updated Guides for the Use of
Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides), 16 C.F.R. Part 260 (enclosed). These
Guides provide marketers with detailed information about how to make non-deceptive
environmental claims, including through environmental certifications and seals of
approval.
After reviewing your website and those of online retailers displaying your
certification (samples enclosed), we are concerned that your environmental certification
“________________” fails to conform to the Green Guides and therefore may be
deceptive, in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act. FTC staff has not determined
whether your environmental claims violate the law. However, we recommend that you
review your marketing materials, both on your website and in any other medium, with the
following in mind:
The Green Guides caution marketers that unqualified general environmental benefit
claims likely convey a wide range of meanings, including that a product has specific and
far-reaching environmental benefits and that an item has no negative environmental impact.
Section 260.4(b). The Guides further state: “Because it is highly unlikely that marketers
can substantiate all reasonable interpretations of these claims, marketers should not make
unqualified general environmental benefit claims.”
Additionally, the Green Guides state that environmental certifications or seals of
approval may imply a general environmental benefit claim. Specifically, they state: “A
marketer’s use of an environmental certification or seal of approval likely conveys that
the product offers a general environmental benefit (see §260.4) if the certification or seal
does not convey the basis for the certification or seal . . . .” Section 260.6(d). They
further caution:
Because it is highly unlikely that marketers can substantiate
general environmental benefit claims, marketers should not use
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580