[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-152979-105":59,"doc-detail-152979-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":124,"head_meta":126,"extra_data":128,"updated_unix":130},105,"en","ftc-ramps-up-enforcement-actions-under-revised-green-guides-to-include-deceptive-biodegradable-plastics-claims","FTC RAMPS UP ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS UNDER REVISED GREEN GUIDES - TO INCLUDE DECEPTIVE BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS CLAIMS","","The document explains how the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expanded enforcement under the revised Green Guides to address deceptive environmental marketing claims, focusing specifically on biodegradable plastics. It outlines the Green Guides’ evolution from the original 1992 version to the revised October 2012 guidance and emphasizes that green claims require substantiation with reliable scientific evidence. It summarizes key enforcement actions brought against companies making and marketing biodegradability claims using additives, and highlights ongoing compliance expectations for businesses and distributors.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/ftc-ramps-up-enforcement-actions-under-revised-green-guides-to-include-deceptive-biodegradable-plastics-claims/152979/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/ftc-ramps-up-enforcement-actions-under-revised-green-guides-to-include-deceptive-biodegradable-plastics-claims/152979.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Noah","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-08-27",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",15,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What prompted the FTC to expand enforcement under the revised Green Guides?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"Consumers’ willingness to pay more for “green” products led to increased environmental marketing claims, prompting FTC crackdowns on unsubstantiated and misleading representations under the revised Green Guides.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"Why are biodegradable plastics claims a specific enforcement focus?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"The FTC brought actions when companies marketed or distributed biodegradable claims without reliable scientific evidence, including claims tied to additives used to make plastics biodegradable.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What compliance lesson does the document emphasize for manufacturers and distributors?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"Companies supplying ingredients or marketing end products should familiarize themselves with the Green Guides and verify environmental claims independently rather than relying on marketing materials from suppliers.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},152979,1787868670,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":14,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":24,"preview_page_count":4},8796095462418,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/80000253c1241d02b47?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1778826106357471780","Daniel Spitzer  \nPartner  \nD +1 (212) 751 4300 [dspitzer@hodgsonruss.com](dspitzer@hodgsonruss.com)  \nMaureen R. Monaghan Senior Associate  \nD +1 (646) 218 7544 [mmonaghan@hodgsonruss.com](mmonaghan@hodgsonruss.com)  \nHodgson Russ LLP 1540 Broadway, 24th Floor New York, NY 10036 F +1 (212) 751 0928 [www.hodgsonruss.com](www.hodgsonruss.com)  \nVOL. 4 • 2013  \nFTC RAMPS UP ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS UNDER REVISED GREEN GUIDES TO INCLUDE DECEPTIVE BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS CLAIMS  \nAs United States consumers are progressively willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products, businesses catering to this market are making an ever-growing number of representations about the “green” qualities of their products and packaging. But not all green claims are what they claim to be, and now the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is generally responsible for preventing deceptive and misleading advertising, has been “cracking down” on companies with unsubstantiated environmental marketing claims. On October 29, 2013, the FTC for the first time expanded its anti-”greenwashing”campaign to companies making biodegradable plastic claims. Five actions were brought against two types of companies – a company making additives that it claimed would made plastic products biodegradable, and four companies marketing products as biodegradable based on the use of such additives. These cases, along with additional recent FTC settlements and guidance documents, send a clear message to the business community that the FTC is intent on ensuring compliance with its recently revised Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides).  \nThe Evolution of the Green Guides  \nThe FTC issued its first version of the Green Guides in 1992 to provide notice to the business community of the conditions and limitations on the types of green marketing claims a company can make about the environmental attributes of a product or its packaging. After an extensive public process to reassess and revise the Green Guides, the revised Green Guides were finally issued in October 2012. With the arrival of the new guidelines, the FTC ramped up enforcement on green marketing claims. In the last year, the agency has brought at least 12 actions alleging deceptive and misleading claims based on the Green Guides.  \nLike other FTC guidelines, the Green Guides do not have the force of law, but the FTC relies heavily on them to measure whether any claim of environmental benefits is deceptive or misleading and therefore actionable under the FTC ACT. Since the purpose of the Green Guides is to prevent deceptive and misleading claims, the guides focus on requiring companies to substantiate with scientific evidence any “green” claim made about a product or its packaging.  \nIn addition to the federal consumer protection laws, many states have adopted their own “little FTC Acts.” Some states, like California and Minnesota, have gone even further and have expressly adopted the Green Guides as binding authority. It therefore is  \n9  \n  VOL. 4 • 2013  \nDaniel Spitzer Partner  \nD +1 (212) 751 4300 [dspitzer@hodgsonruss.com](dspitzer@hodgsonruss.com)  \nMaureen R. Monaghan Senior Associate  \nD +1 (646) 218 7544 [mmonaghan@hodgsonruss.com](mmonaghan@hodgsonruss.com)  \nHodgson Russ LLP 1540 Broadway, 24th Floor New York, NY 10036 F +1 (212) 751 0928 [www.hodgsonruss.com](www.hodgsonruss.com)  \nFTC RAMPS UP ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS UNDER REVISED GREEN GUIDES TO INCLUDE DECEPTIVE BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS CLAIMS  \nreasonable to expect that the Green Guides, and FTC precedents construing them, will be cited and followed in suits based on state-law claims that particular green marketing claims are deceptive or misleading.  \nRecent Enforcement Actions Regarding Biodegradable Plastic Claims  \nECM Biofilms Inc . manufactures an additive which it claims makes plastic products biodegradable. The FTC filed an administrative complaint against the company claiming that ECM made false or misleading claims regarding bi","cbCaihAne6BkasnQ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihAne6BkasnQ","pdf",3637087,"English","# The Evolution of the Green Guides\n## Recent Enforcement Actions Regarding Biodegradable Plastic Claims\n# Conclusion","[{\"question\":\"What prompted the FTC to expand enforcement under the revised Green Guides?\",\"answer\":\"Consumers’ willingness to pay more for “green” products led to increased environmental marketing claims, prompting FTC crackdowns on unsubstantiated and misleading representations under the revised Green Guides.\"},{\"question\":\"Why are biodegradable plastics claims a specific enforcement focus?\",\"answer\":\"The FTC brought actions when companies marketed or distributed biodegradable claims without reliable scientific evidence, including claims tied to additives used to make plastics biodegradable.\"},{\"question\":\"What compliance lesson does the document emphasize for manufacturers and distributors?\",\"answer\":\"Companies supplying ingredients or marketing end products should familiarize themselves with the Green Guides and verify environmental claims independently rather than relying on marketing materials from suppliers.\"}]","FTC RAMPS UP ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS UNDER REVISED GREEN GUIDES - TO INCLUDE DECEPTIVE BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS CLAIMS | PDF"]