Advertising code

Forest and Bird, Volume 22, Issue 2, 1 May 1991, Page 49

Advertising code

T HE NEW environmental claims advertising code is designed to prevent companies overinflating the virtues of their products. Like ECNZ, the code demands that claims for environmental benefit be assessed on the complete lifecycle of the product and its packaging. This means absolute claims, whether stated or implied, are out which should make phrases such as "environmentally friendly’, "safe" and "kind" a thing of the past. Qualified claims, such as "environmentally friendlier’, "safer" or "kinder’’, may be acceptable where the product, service or company can demonstrate a significant environmental advantage over its competitors or improvement on its previous formulation, components, packaging and method of manufacture or operation. All claims must also meet local or international standards of biodegradability if such a benefit is claimed. Overseas, where there are few such codes, consumer faith in green products has been undermined by blatant extravagant claims. For instance, in the United Kingdom, BP has claimed its new "su-

pergreen’" brand of lead-free petrol causes "no pollution to the environment’. The copywriters forgot about acid rain, urban smog and the greenhouse effect the day they wrote that line.