After years of deliberation, the Federal Trade Commission this week released its final “Green Guides” for environmental benefit claims. FTC’s final Guides are similar to the “proposed” guides, which FTC released for public comment two years ago. But the final Guides include some important new recommendations and points of clarification.

General “Green” Or “Eco-Friendly” Claims -

In the final Guides, FTC once again strongly discourages advertisers from making broad, unqualified environmental benefit claims. Unqualified “green” or “eco-friendly” claims, in FTC’s view, are highly susceptible to misinterpretation by consumers. To avoid potential confusion, advertisers should qualify environmental claims and explain, for example, that a product is “green” specifically because it is “made from recyclable material.”