Whose Grass Is Greener? Green Marketing: Toward a Uniform Approach for Responsible Environmental Advertising
Year: 1992
Type: article
Abstract: at 8. 2. The "number of environmental claims on packages doubled between 1989-90 and this trend shows no sign of slowing down .... " Linda M. Harrington, FTC Urged to Regulate 'Green'Ads, CHI.TRIB., July 18, 1991, at C17.The green marketing phenomenon has been increasing since 1989, when the attorneys general of several states combined forces to investigate and improve green marketing practices.The Task Force now consists of Attorneys General from California, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.The Task Force, in conjunction with the FTC and the EPA, held a national Public Forum in March 1990, consisting of leaders of business, government and environmental groups concerned about the effects of green marketing on consumers.The findings of the Public Forum were compiled by the Task Force and were set forth in November 1990, in The Green Report.-Findingsand Preliminary Recommendations For Responsible Environmental Advertising (John K. Van de Kemp, California Attorney General, et al. eds.1990) [hereinafter Green Report].Responding to criticisms that some of its recommendations were untenable, unfair or ill-advised, the Task Force issued Green Report II in May 1991, in which it clarified and revised some of its original suggestions.The Green Report II: Recommendations for Responsible Environmental Advertising, May 1991, at vi (1991) [hereinafter Green Report If].This Note discusses the Task Force's recommendations as they stand as of this writing.The Task Force's efforts are discussed fully, infra part III. "A claim that may be literally true may nonetheless be misleading if a consumer might infer additional meanings-for example, with a claim that a product is "recyclable," a consumer might infer that such recycling is likely to occur."David J. Freeman, Environmental Product Claims Invite New Scrutiny, Litigation, NAT'L L.J., June 3, 1991, at 18. Some claims are misleading because they are "simply meaningless, such as the bathroom cleaner which 'contains no nitrates.'You cannot actually buy a bathroom cleaner which contains nitrates. . . .[Another example is] labeling a plastic bottle as 'recyclable', [which,] even if true, is likely to be unhelpful, because so few plastic recycling schemes exist."Simon Hinde, How to Spend It; Green Con Tricks, FIN.TIMES, Sept. 15, 1990, at IX. See infra part IV (discussing Recommendation A of Task Force).4. Chase, supra note 1. 5. Felix H. Kent, Green Marketing, N.Y.L.J. Feb. 22, 1991, at 3, 35.The term "environmentally sound," like "environmentally safe," "environmentally friendly" and "good for the environment," is itself enigmatic.These are ambiguous phrases that give no concrete information as to the environmental attribute of the product.Is it recycled?Recyclable?These claims must be accurately and narrowly tailored to the individual product.See also Green Report II, supra note 2, at 5. 6. See e.g., Consumers Go Green, ADVERTISING AGE, Sept. 25, 1989, at 3. A J. Walter Thompson survey reported that of the consumers polled: 45% read labels for environmentally harmful products; 34% reduced use of paper towels; 49% bought products made of recycled materials; 54% stopped using aerosol sprays and 31% bought products because they were supposed to be good for the environment.Environmental Action, ADVERTISING AGE, Dec. 10, 1990, at 62. Labels, when used properly, serve to guide consumers "through a 'green' wilderness where more and more advertising and marketing departments are using elaborate and sometimes false environmental claims as a selling point."Marlise Simons, A 'Green Label'for Europe's Consumer Goods, N.Y.
Author: Joanna Watman
Language: English
Subfield: Marketing
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1491743656