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Greening Your Product? Be Sure the Label Backs it Up
July 21, 2008
Toronto, July 21, 2008 - Many companies claim their products are environmentally friendly to appeal to the growing green sentiment in Canada. Now they must be more specific than ever when advertising their environmental ways, or it could cost them. The Canadian Standards Association recently released Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers. The guidelines are meant to discourage industry and advertisers from misleading consumers on the environmental aspects of their products.
"Industry is feeling tremendous pressure to be perceived as 'green'," says Andrew Taylor, co-chair of the Cleantech team at Ogilvy Renault. "However, careful consideration must be given to all green claims to ensure compliance with the guidelines."
The CSA guidelines say companies must label their packaging with specific details on what part of their product's packaging is environmentally friendly. They also state companies cannot suggest an environmental improvement that does not exist.
Although not law, the guidelines, developed in partnership with the Competition Bureau, will serve as a reference for the Bureau to evaluate whether environmental claims are in compliance with the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and the Textile Labelling Act. These laws prohibit the use of false or misleading representations and are administered and enforced by the Competition Bureau, which has the power to seek fines.
About Ogilvy Renault's Environmental Practice
Ogilvy Renault's Environmental practice deals with complex environmental issues and rapid advances in science and technology. Team members with experience in the private and public sectors resolve regulatory issues, such as environmental compliance, risk management and diligence. Clients also benefit from the team's familiarity with government policies and expectations. The firm recently partnered with the newly-created Montréal Climate Exchange.
About Ogilvy Renault
Ogilvy Renault LLP is a full-service law firm with close to 450 lawyers, patent and trade-mark agents practising in the areas of business, litigation, intellectual property, and employment and labour. Ogilvy Renault has offices in Montréal, Ottawa, Québec, Toronto, and London (England), and serves some of the largest and most successful corporations in Canada and in more than 120 countries worldwide. Find out more at ogilvyrenault.com.
Contacts
Peter Zvanitajs - Toronto
Senior Advisor, Media Relations
416.216.1871
pzvanitajs@ogilvyrenault.com
Joanne Lajeunesse - Montréal
Director, Marketing and Media Relations - Quebec Region
514.847.4723
jlajeunesse@ogilvyrenault.com
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