[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 16, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2006]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 16CFR260.5]

[Page 181-182]
 
                     TITLE 16--COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
 
                   CHAPTER I--FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
 
PART 260_GUIDES FOR THE USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING CLAIMS--Table 
of Contents
 
Sec. 260.5  Interpretation and substantiation of environmental marketing 
claims.

    Section 5 of the FTC Act makes unlawful deceptive acts and practices 
in or affecting commerce. The Commission's criteria for determining 
whether an express or implied claim has been

[[Page 182]]

made are enunciated in the Commission's Policy Statement on Deception. 
\1\ In addition, any party making an express or implied claim that 
presents an objective assertion about the environmental attribute of a 
product, package or service must, at the time the claim is made, possess 
and rely upon a reasonable basis substantiating the claim. A reasonable 
basis consists of competent and reliable evidence. In the context of 
environmental marketing claims, such substantiation will often require 
competent and reliable scientific evidence, defined as tests, analyses, 
research, studies or other evidence based on the expertise of 
professionals in the relevant area, conducted and evaluated in an 
objective manner by persons qualified to do so, using procedures 
generally accepted in the profession to yield accurate and reliable 
results. Further guidance on the reasonable basis standard is set forth 
in the Commission's 1983 Policy Statement on the Advertising 
Substantiation Doctrine. 49 FR 30999 (1984); appended to Thompson 
Medical Co., 104 F.T.C. 648 (1984). The Commission has also taken action 
in a number of cases involving alleged deceptive or unsubstantiated 
environmental advertising claims. A current list of environmental 
marketing cases and/or copies of individual cases can be obtained by 
calling the FTC Consumer Response Center at (202) 326-2222.
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    \1\ Cliffdale Associates, Inc., 103 F.T.C. 110, at 176, 176 n.7, 
n.8, Appendix, reprinting letter dated Oct. 14, 1983, from the 
Commission to The Honorable John D. Dingell, Chairman, Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives (1984) (``Deception 
Statement'').

[63 FR 24248, May 1, 1998]