Federal agency seeks public comments on environmental claims in green advertising. Ad Federation fears new rules could hurt industry.
The Federal Trade Commission is conducting public hearings to determine whether it should tighten rules on "green" advertising in light of the recent boom in environmental marketing. It last updated the rules in 1998.
The FCC forums are called "Eco in The Market." The last will be held in April and the deadline for filing comments is May 19.
According to Steve Miller in Brandweek Magazine, "the scrutiny is the inevitable result of the frenzied march to claims of green credentials" in recent advertising.
"Everybody is trying to ‘out-green’ the other these days," said Ted Burton, a vice president at EnviroMedia Social Marketing, an Austin, Texas agency that counsels companies and government agencies on environmental practices.
Steve Price, former CEO at Publicis Mid America in Dallas, added that "the more marketers that jump on this green bandwagon, the more likely it is that someone will abuse it."
The abuses are called "greenwashing."
EnviroMedia and the University of Oregon School of Journalism have set up an interactive greenwashing website that allows consumers to evaluate environmental claims made by advertisers.
In comments filed with the FCC, the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the American Advertising Federation have said tougher guidelines could harm the ad industry.
Sources: Brandweek Magazine, Jan. 7, 2008
