Viewing Tag: Environment

New FTC Guidelines Are Coming — Making Sense of it All

by Bob Mitchell

November 11th, 2008 in Environment, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Global warming, Goodwin Procter, Guidelines, Marketing

“We need to be Green”.  “It’s the right thing to do.”  “It’s the in thing.”

As marketers jump on the bandwagon, some will do it right and others….well, we have all seen an ad and said, “That’s bull.”  So what’s a guy to do…or more directly, an advertiser?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) first published guidelines in 1992 but the issues of ’92 are not the issues of today.  Witness Obama and McCain arguing Global Warming — not a topic addressed in ’92. The good news is the FTC will release updated guidelines in 2009.  The bad news is that it’s the FTC and the government doesn’t always use “common speak.”  The better news is that I just read a whitepaper from Goodwin Procter that is short and to the point; a shining “green” light in the darkness.

Marketers need to follow constantly evolving guidelines and laws regarding “Green Marketing Claims.”  While the FTC originally issued guidelines in 1992, they are currently considering major revisions.   These revisions come after acceptance of comments and a series of workshops on specific issues.  Three key issues addressed are:

A white paper from Godwin Procter provides an excellent overview of the issues and suggests five strategic considerations for marketers making environmental claims:

• Carefully evaluate the potential environmental benefits of products and operations
• Seek certification from third parties
• Substantiate and document any environmental claims
• Make precise environmental claims
• Ensure that representations concerning the environmental impacts and benefits of the company’s products and operating practices are consistent

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Turning your home green

by Karianne Yackle

June 19th, 2008 in Cleaning, Environment, Greenwashing, household products

The last time you cleaned your kitchen floors, what were you thinking about?  Chances are, it didn’t have anything to do with saving the environment.  You were probably focused on simply getting that dirty job done and over with, like anyone else.

But today, just about every household product you can imagine comes in “green” — environmentally-friendly, that is.  It’s great to switch from that old aerosol can to a bio-degradable spray bottle…but it’s important to find out first what products are really eco-friendly, and what products are faking it.

Check out sites like GreenSeal.org for a heads up on what to look for in different products if you decide you want to clean the green way.

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CE “lightens” the energy load

by Laurel Turk

June 2nd, 2008 in Campbell-Ewald, CFL, Energy, Environment

Yes, finally — CFLs are here en masse! Over the past few weeks, Campbell-Ewald has installed CFLs in a total of 243 light fixtures around the agency. That adds up to about $4,500 a year in energy savings, and it’s just another way we’re trying to reduce our impact on the environment.

More on CFLs here. 

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Weapons go green. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

by Laurel Turk

May 27th, 2008 in Environment, Technology, Weapons

Great news! Bombs are about to become more environmentally-friendly. That’s right—it’s about time we stop damaging the environment and putting people at risk of toxic exposure when we blow things up.

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