Consumers are increasingly interested in taking steps toward a greener lifestyle, and going green includes buying products that are consistent with greener living. Businesses have responded to this demand from customers with claims of a wide range of environmental benefits. A Products now boast a wide range of sometimes mystifying claims about being eco-friendly, biodegradable, natural, or organic. But what do the words “environmentally-friendly” on a household cleaner really mean? The fact is that in many cases the meaning is unclear.

The Federal Trace Commissions (FTC) is taking steps to remedy this situation. No longer will companies be ale to make vague claims about far-reaching environmental benefits. These claims must be more specific and the words used must have meanings that are better defined.

For example, the FTC’s new proposal would clarify the meaning of the tern “Biodegradable.”A Under current law, biodegradable simply means that a product decomposes “within a reasonably short period of time” after normal disposal. What does that mean? No one really knows. The new proposal would make this claim more definite and clear. The FTC proposes to modify the language so that to claim that a product is biodegradable, it must break down in a period of time “no more than one year after customary disposal.”

In addition, the new guidelines would be more specific about claiming that a product is “free of” a particular chemical. Such a claim is deceptive if that particular chemical has not been present in similar products in the past. Thus, …