AGENCY REVIEW OF ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING CLAIMS - CASE-BY-CASE DECOMPOSITION OF THE ISSUES

Environmental claims in marketing are subject to review by a variety o f government and self-regulatory bodies. Although some of these bodies have issued guidelines, the most important precedents have been set i n case-by-case actions. We discuss cases brought by the state attorney s general and the New York City Division of Consumer Affairs, and exam ine in detail cases brought by the Federal Trade Commission and the Na tional Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus between 1990 and the end of 1994. Similarities and differences among t he cases brought by these bodies are analyzed in relation to the goals and powers of the various review bodies. We conclude with observation s about the adequacy with which issues involving environmental issues (e.g., degradability, recyclability, ozone impact, life cycle assessme nts) have been addressed in case-by-case action and provide some sugge stions for future research.