Research into Environmental Communications to Prevent Misleading Advertising on Eco-Products

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I have analyzed environmental advertising which has been classified as self-declared environmental claims, with reference to ISO 14021 and the FTC Guides.1) Environmental claims : (1)Vague claims without specifying environmental benefits of products are seen in advertising illustrating a company's efforts in environmental protection. This type of advertising sometime broadly or wholly implies that the company is trying to reduce their impact on the environment. (2)Comparative claims often do not clarify the basis of comparison. Claims in comparison with an organization's previous product, especially in claims of reduced energy consumption or reduced water consumption, do not always clearly present a definite name or model as the basis of comparison. In some cases, the basis of comparison is not suitable or is out of date.2) Manufacturers' environmental labels : The research examined manufacturers' Type II environmental labels with reference.to ISO 14021 and ISO/JEC Guides 22. (1)From the case studies, 11 companies have disclosed their environmental criteria through their websites. Some companies, however, provide no explanation about their criteria. (2)Manufacturers of PCs, printers and copy machines tend to disclose more detailed information on their own environmental criteria than other industries. (3)Many companies impose stricter self-imposed criteria on their products than the official standards set under the Law on Promoting Green Purchase and the International Energy Star Program. Some companies, however, have not provided enough information on the competitive edges and differences Qf their self-imposed criteria when compared with the standards for Eco Mark and the Law on Promoting Green Purchasing.