Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 111/2

12 October 2012

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 821/2012

US : Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued in the Federal Register (FR) of 11 October 2012 a notice concerning its adoption of revised Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims ("Green Guides"). The FR notice is available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-10-11/pdf/2012-24713.pdf.

DETAILS

2. The Green Guides are designed to help marketers ensure that the claims they make about the environmental attributes of their products are truthful and non-deceptive. They are not agency rules or regulations.

3. In revising the Green Guides, the FTC modified and clarified sections of the previous Guides and provided new guidance on environmental claims that were not common when the Guides were last reviewed. For further information on the revised Guides, please refer to FTC’s press release at http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/10/greenguides.shtm, as well as the above-mentioned FR notice which summarises FTC's revisions to the Guides and includes the final Guides.

ENQUIRIES

4. For enquiries concerning this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5682.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Cindy LAU)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry

Note : While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.