Green Marketing

As consumers are increasingly making purchasing decisions based on environmental benefits, federal and state regulators are intensifying their scrutiny of marketing messages claiming attributes such as “carbon-neutral,” “sustainable,” and “eco-friendly,” among others.  Any company launching or conducting a green marketing initiative will need a legal team to help support its strategies – strategies designed to capture consumer attention, increase sales, and communicate corporate responsibility.  That team is Manatt. 

Clients rely on Manatt’s Green Marketing practice group because it has an interdisciplinary focus and is unlike any other team in the industry.  Our group provides a holistic analysis from a variety of vantage points: 

• It consists of lawyers who are experts in advertising and marketing law and who review the adequacy of product claims and environmental benefit claims every day;
• It includes environmental and food and drug attorneys who evaluate regulatory requirements and labeling issues on an ongoing basis; and
• It includes attorneys experienced in defending advertisers from enforcement or litigation in all fora, whether in the courts, before the EPA, FDA, the National Advertising Division (NAD), FTC or state agencies.  And, its attorneys help advertisers police their competitors to ensure that they are meeting the same strict criteria.

Our team is comprised of professionals with decades of experience who have a deep understanding of the relevant science, regulation, and emerging policies affecting green claims.  We are regularly called on, not only by corporations, but also by state and local governments, trade associations, and even environmental organizations, to provide expertise. 

Our accomplishments to date are notable and include:

• Participating in the initial formulation of the FTC's Green Guides;
• Participating in the development of the National Association of Attorneys General task force on green marketing;
• Advising clients in the food and beverage industries regarding the making of claims such as “natural” and “organic,” for both packaging and products, and prosecuting and defending claims at the NAD and in court regarding the right to use such claims;
• Counseling a major industry trade group regarding its efforts to convert the packaging used by its membership to environmentally sustainable materials;
• Assisting a major lawn products manufacturer in the substantiation and defense of its claims that its products provide water savings, and defending its trademarks for products conferring these benefits;
• Advising a number of companies seeking to claim antimicrobial or pesticidal benefits for their chemicals or devices and defending them at NAD, the FTC and in court over such claims;
• Providing pro bono assistance to a nationally known environmental organization seeking to challenge misleading descriptions regarding treatment of farm animals for food;
• Counseling companies regarding the use of claims such as recyclable, biodegradable and the use of post-recycled content;
• Reviewing third-party certification programs, assisting in the set-up and qualification of products and services for such programs, and challenges to improper or misleading certifications;
• Assisting companies in quantifying their carbon output and in the development of regulatory production and distribution strategies to qualify for carbon trading credits and/or to make claims of carbon neutrality;
• Evaluating product improvements of major manufacturers from a green chemistry standpoint, and assisting those companies in obtaining approval for their products from regulatory agencies, and in truthfully communicating product environmental benefits; and
• Advising on the qualification for Energy Star certification, and challenging false Energy Star labeling.