"WASHINGTON -- Companies wishing to market their products as 'eco-friendly' or good for the environment had better have data to back up the claims, the Federal Trade Commission warned Monday, laying out guidelines for so-called green marketing."

"The commission said it was updating its environmental marketing guidelines for the first time since 1998 because the number of companies employing them had grown substantially, while the claims themselves had become more ambiguous.

The guidelines are included in the F.T.C.’s Green Guides, which were first issued in 1992 and revised in 1996 and 1998. The commission proposed further revisions in 2010, and those are now final in the 314-page publication released Monday."

Edward Wyatt reports for the New York Times October 1, 2012. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"U.S. Seeks To Stamp Out Deceptive "Green" Advertising" (Reuters) [3]

"But Is It Really 'Green'? FTC Cracks Down on False Eco-Friendly Ads" (Christian Science Monitor) [4]