Tell the FTC to update the Green Guides and stop corporate greenwashing

Dear John,

We’ve all seen ads from companies claiming their products are sustainable, natural, low carbon or net zero, to name a few terms used to claim that products are environmentally friendly. It was estimated that in 2017 U.S. companies spent over $44 billion on "green" projects. But should we trust them?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces truth-in-advertising laws to ensure that companies aren’t misrepresenting their products to consumers through deceptive marketing. When it comes to deceptive environmental claims or "greenwashing," the FTC has published a set of Green Guides, last updated in 2012. Since then, we’ve learned a lot about the difference between real and false solutions to the climate crisis.

The Green Guides are being revised this year. Comment now to improve the rules and stop companies from deceiving people.

We know what we can do to prevent the climate crisis and we know we can’t afford to allow false claims made by companies to fool us. There should be no further delay to changes we need to make to avoid the worst of the climate crisis.

Can you take a moment to submit a comment to the FTC to ensure we are keeping companies honest about their climate-friendly claims?

In solidarity,

Josh Eisenfeld, Corporate Accountability Communications Manager
Earthworks

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