Podcast - Cracking Down on Carbon Markets: CFTC and FTC Exercise Heightened Scrutiny
Is Your Brand "Sustainable"? How Retail Companies Can Stay in the Green
As advertising and marketing strategies in the automotive sector continue to evolve in response to advancing technology and changing consumer expectations, advertisers are encountering new questions—accompanied by...more
Recently Amy Mudge and I, along with Bethany Lukitsch and Julie Singer Brady, the co-leads of our class action group, attended and spoke at the Consumer Brand CPG Legal Forum....more
The National Advertising Division (“NAD”) resolved a beef between makers of competing meat stick products, Link Snacks Inc. and We Are The Chompions, LLC (“Chomps”). Link Snacks challenged Chomps’ non-specific carbon neutral...more
Green marketing is very much in vogue, and so is suing companies over their green marketing. If you want to avoid those suits, you should generally start by looking at the FTC’s Green Guides. But a lot has changed since the...more
Last month, a putative class action was filed against Procter & Gamble challenging various green advertising claims for its Charmin toilet paper. The complaint brought a variety of state law claims targeting P&G’s...more
The California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) has issued its Revised Preliminary Findings Report on the recyclability of various materials under the state’s “Truth in Recycling” law, also known as...more
The incoming administration will change the Federal Trade Commission leadership. Chair Lina Khan, whose term has expired, is leaving, making way for a new majority of three Republican Commissioners. Andrew Ferguson will...more
In a notable ESG ruling, U.S. District Judge Nelson Roman dismissed a class action lawsuit against Danone Waters of America that had alleged the company deceptively labeled its Evian bottled water as "carbon-neutral." This...more
In January, we reported that a judge in the Southern District of New York refused to dismiss a class action alleging that “carbon neutral” claims on bottles of Evian water were misleading. The judge determined that the term...more
Protecting the planet against climate change is a social movement—and big business. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued detailed and specific guidance for marketers about how to substantiate so-called green...more
In this week’s edition, we discuss the UK’s advertising regulator’s continued focus on greenwashing enforcement – this time, in relation to Virgin Atlantic and its use of sustainable aviation fuel. We also discuss the latest...more
In today’s market, eco-friendly claims can serve as a tool for companies looking to attract environmentally conscious consumers. However, this surge in green marketing has also caught the attention of the plaintiffs’ bar,...more
“Kid-friendly.” “Reef-friendly.” “Earth-friendly.” “Pet-friendly.” There’s no shortage of products that are marketed as being “-friendly.” There’s also no shortage of litigation that accuses products of not being as...more
The Biden Administration published a joint policy statement and set of principles for participating in the voluntary carbon markets (“VCMs”) on Tuesday. The set of principles recognize the role that carbon credits have...more
What You Need To Know In A Minute Or Less - For both consumers and producers, the recent seismic shifts in packaging—from materials to circularity advertising—have been hard to miss. The past few years have introduced several...more
Companies should take note – there is increased global scrutiny around environmental or green marketing, or so-called “greenwashing,” claims. These claims stem from alleged wrongdoing in companies’ marketing representations...more
This Insight discusses the growth and development of class and collective actions and considers future trends in the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom....more
On January 10, 2024, a class action lawsuit survived a motion to dismiss a complaint alleging injury due to misleading "carbon neutrality" branding on bottled water. Dorris v. Danone Waters of America, Case No. 22 Civ. 8717...more
Huggies Diaper Evidence Not a Good "Fit" for #1 Claim, NAD Says - Huggies claimed its diapers were the #1 Best Fitting, a broad claim requiring broad evidence against the market—evidence that the National Advertising...more
Is a product recyclable if it is made of recyclable materials? Or is it recyclable when it can be recycled by waste management facilities? Last month, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California...more
As we anxiously await the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) update of the Green Guides, advertisers should keep in mind the various “green” state laws that could affect the production and marketing of certain products. For...more
In recent years, American consumers have demonstrated a focus on how their consumption habits impact the environment. According to McKinsey & Company, “more than half of US consumers are … highly concerned about the...more
The end of a year and the beginning of a new one can be a time of reflection and a time for thinking about the future and what it may hold. It is a time for making lists of resolutions, goals, and aspirations...more
In response to state decarbonization mandates that require reduced use of fossil fuels, various U.S. jurisdictions, including California and Massachusetts, have set ambitious net zero greenhouse emissions goals. This shift...more
2023 saw terms like “ESG,” “greenwashing,” and “circular economy” come into common use. We also saw a tsunami of other environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related developments at the international, federal, and state...more