FTC to Review Guidelines for 'Green' Advertising

The Federal Trade Commission will begin a regulatory review of its environmental marketing guidelines on Jan. 8 at a meeting in Washington, DC.

This periodic review is happening one year ahead of schedule because the number of "green" marketing claims made by advertisers has increased substantially, according to the FTC.

Trends regarding advertising claims related to product degradability, composting, recycling and recycled content will be examined. Claims being made by marketers related to environmental sustainability and renewable resources also will be discussed.

The FTC will accept public comments related to existing environmental marketing guidelines until Feb. 11. The last time the FTC updated these guidelines was in 1998.