CANON · REGULATION / FTC-GREEN-GUIDES

FTC Guides for Use of Environmental Marketing Claims

DefinedTerm · Legislation

FTC Green Guides (last revised 2012; substantive update under review 2023–2024) govern environmental marketing claims in the United States. Specific guidance covers: 'recycled content' (must specify percentage and pre/post-consumer source), 'pre-owned' and 'refurbished' (cannot imply like-new condition without basis), 'sustainable' (requires substantiation across the full product lifecycle), and carbon offset claims. Violations are enforceable as deceptive practices under FTC Act Section 5. Penalty: up to $51,744 per violation per day.

TERM CODE: ftc-green-guides
LEGISLATION IDENTIFIER: FTC 16 CFR Part 260
LEGISLATION JURISDICTION: United States / California
LEGISLATION LEGAL FORCE: https://schema.org/InForce
EXTERNAL REFERENCE: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-260
ADDITIONAL PROPERTY: in-effectstatus Any business marketing products as 'sustainable,' 'pre-owned,' 'refurbished,' or 'recycled content' in the US must substantiate those claims. Signed records — condition log, repair history, material composition, or claim evidence hash — are the substantiation the FTC requires.reason resale,marketappliesSectors green-claimsappliesTriggers appliesMaterials 1jurisdictionRank [{"id":"recycled_content_pct","label":"Recycled content"}]requiresFields truerequiresProvisional

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