Browsing environmental news so you don't have to
Read the full story at Lexology.
A class action complaint filed in July by New York and California residents in the Northern District of California takes aim at a series of Clorox-brand products that are marketed as comprising “green” or “natural” ingredients.
Read the full story in GreenBiz.
Businesses that trumpet their environmental credentials are often accused of greenwash. Rightly, organizations such as WWF have to show that when we collaborate with a company that isn’t getting everything right, it’s because we believe we can change how it works to become better. But there may be another phenomenon too, maybe a backlash to greenwash: that of “green hush.” If a company fears the accusation of greenwash or thinks customers won’t care about its attitude to climate change or the natural environment, then why would it shout about it?
Read the full story in Environmental Leader.
Walmart has agreed to pay $1 million to settle greenwashing claims that allege the nation’s largest retailer sold plastic products that were misleadingly labeled “biodegradable” or “compostable” in violation of California law.
Read the full story in AdWeek.
Earlier today, the Federal Trade Commission announced complaints against four major retailers—Bed Bath & Beyond, Nordstrom, JCPenney and Backcountry.com—with civil penalties totaling $1.3 million. The offense? Marketing bamboo products that aren’t made of bamboo.
Read the full story in the New York Times.
The New York attorney general has begun a sweeping investigation of Exxon Mobil to determine whether the company lied to the public about the risks of climate change or to investors about how those risks might hurt the oil business.
According to people with knowledge of the investigation, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued a subpoena Wednesday evening to Exxon Mobil, demanding extensive financial records, emails and other documents.
Read the full story in Plastics News.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has ruled against an Ohio-based plastics film maker, calling ECM BioFilms Inc.’s claims that its product is biodegradable “false and unsubstantiated.”
The FTC ruling overturns an administrative law judge’s decision in January that ECM’s MasterBatch Pellets cause plastics to biodegrade and that such claims are supported by evidence, including more than 20 gas evolution tests proving biodegradability. The FTC rejected the nearly 1,500 findings in the more than 300-page decision by Administrative Law Judge D. Michael Chappell.
However, the new ruling says the company’s claims that treated plastics will biodegrade in a landfill over a time period spanning nine months to five years are merely deceptive marketing.
FTC’s final order bans ECM from saying any plastic product treated with its additive is “biodegradable” unless that claim is supported by scientific evidence and that the entire plastic item will completely decompose into elements found in nature within five years if disposed of in a conventional way, unless the product is clearly labeled with an explanation of how long it takes to biodegrade and any special disposal requirements.
Read the full story at Fast Company.
New laundry-free linens may be convenient for college students, Airbnb hosts, and disaster relief. But saying they are eco-friendly is a stretch.
