Navigating FTC Guidance And Green Marketing Litigation

Retailers and manufacturers have increasingly been advertising products with descriptors such as "eco-friendly," "green," "organic," and "sustainable." Predictably, plaintiffs and government enforcers have targeted businesses for "greenwashing"— a term coined to describe the act of exaggerating a company's or product's environmental benefits. While the Federal Trade Commission first issued guidance on green marketing more than 20 years ago, greenwashing suits have proliferated in recent years. Below, we summarize FTC guidance, relevant state laws, and the current state of litigation.

FTC Green Guides

The FTC's "Guides to the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims," or "Green Guides," are the most frequently cited source of guidance for green marketing in the U.S. 16 C.F.R. § 260 et seq. Initially published in 1992 and most recently updated in 2012, the Green Guides advise advertisers on the kinds of practices that the FTC considers deceptive, and thus subject