Attended as "Expert in Residence" for Sustainable Life Media
June 2-5, 2008
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Walk through any grocery store and you can’t miss it: eye-catching product packaging that screams “essentially non-toxic!" or “eco-safe!” or “recyclable!” These vague, feel-good environmental claims are popping up on an ever-wider range of merchandise these days, thanks to a scorching-hot market. At the same time, the Federal Trade Commission and other governing bodies have offered little guidance (so far) on what exactly manufacturers can responsibly say about the environmental attributes of their products.
Well, you can’t fault marketers for trying or can you? Conscious consumers are calling the more egregious offenders “greenwashers,” and in an overloaded product market where customer loyalty is a powerful differentiator, it’s a backlash you definitely want to avoid.
In April 2007 Scot Case, of environmental marketing firm TerraChoice, sent teams of researchers into the retail environment for a little good old-fashioned field work. The group identified 1018 products that made environmental claims and captured the information available to support them (in many cases, it wasn’t much). Today, he and lawyer Brooks Beard of Morrison & Foerster shared with SB’08 attendees the key findings of that research “The Six Sins of Greenwashing," if you will to help savvy marketers get religion.
The "Sin of Fibbing" misleading customers about the actual environmental performance of products. A good example is “Energy Star Certified.” “ Energy Star does not actually certify products. The most grievous sin, fibbing is thankfully also the rarest, present in only 1% of claims reviewed, according to Case.
The "Sin of No Proof" occurs when a company is unable to provide proof of claims. This is definite potential target for the FTC and could be subject to penalization.
The "Sin of Irrelevance" refers to claims that are factually correct but essentially meaningless. For example, noting that a product is “CFC-free” when CFCs have been banned for years takes advantage of consumers’ lack of information.
The "Sin of Hidden Tradeoff" focuses consumers on a single issue while ignoring or hiding other tradeoffs, causing the buyer to perceive the product’s environmental performance as better then it actually is.
The "Sin of Vagueness" refers to claims that use meaningless terms. For example, one 100% petroleum brand listed “100% natural” on its label. When a person at the toll-free number was asked to substantiate the claim, the representative replied that oil comes out of the ground and was therefore “natural.”
The "Sin of Lesser of Two Evils" occurs as a result of attempts to differentiate products as having the best environmental performance in their class. But can a case really be made for organic cigarettes?
Stricter Enforcement on the Horizon
The FTC ruled against just 37 false or misleading ads in the 1990s, and since then most of the agency’s limited budget has been directed toward education rather than enforcement. This may soon change, with William E. Kovacic, the new FTC chair, signaling a change in direction. Brooks Beard warned attendees to prepare for a crackdown on boundary-pushing marketers within the next few months.
FTC’s Green Guides for marketing claims are not law, but they are given some weight by the courts. The FTC is now considering revisions to its Green Guides governing environmental marketing claims. Adjustments could include closer scrutiny of the words “renewable,” “sustainable,” and possibly “local”; a reevaluation of the word “recyclable” given variations in regional recycling services; new standards for the use of green seals and labels; and guidance on how lifecycle assessment might fit into the claim-substantiation process.
Companies should also anticipate increasing action on the state level. The “Plaintiff’s Bar” is being referred to as next “big ticket” in this area; the search has begun for consumers who are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products to be included in class action suits.
What’s a Green Marketer to Do?
Green markers that are doing their job well are using language that attracts the “hard-core greens,” backing up their statements with detailed information made available on a website. Be aware, though, that it’s difficult to extol the virtues of one product without exposing others. Precision is recommended but, more importantly, don’t over do it; honesty and a little humility are the best policy. Case says it’s okay to be subtle upfront as long as you offer lots of additional information online or via phone hotlines, while Beard tells his legal clients to avoid broad claims altogether.
Environmental certifications are an additional tool for avoiding greenwashing. But with over 350 certification labels right now, navigating which one to use can be complicated in itself. Case and Beard both suggest working with those created by diverse stakeholder groups and verified by third parties.
Follow these basic guidelines (and the FTC’s revised Green Guides), and ye shall sin no more!
Revi Schlesinger heads RVN Consulting, a network of experts aligning to support the success of large-scale corporate sustainability integration initiatives. Continue the conversation at www.ReviSchlesinger.com/blog.html
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