The Federal Trade Commission, on Wednesday, October 6 , 2010 proposed  long-anticipated revisions to its “Green Guides” for making environmental claims. The changes to the Guides dramatically change what advertisers are likely to say, especially in the areas of making unqualified environmental claims and in respect of certifications and seals of approval.  The Guides deal with claims addressed by the current Guides, as well as claims not addressed therein, such as in respect of “”renewable” materials or energy.

The revised guidelines are of major importance to anyone making environmental claims and worthy of  serious in depth review by all counsel and marketers dealing with these issues.

WEBINAR: The PMA will be hosting a webinar about the new guildelines featuring Chris Cole, an advertising law partner with Manatt Phelps & Phillips in Washington, DC on Tuesday, October 12th at 2pm EST.   Click Here  to register.

And in November the PMA Law Conference will cover the matter in even greater detail in the Friday November 19^th session Green Advertising/ The New Rules with a panel headed by Brian Heidelberger, Advertising Law Partner at Winston & Strawn, and including David Mallen, Assoc Director, NAD, BBB, Julia Oas Corporate Counsel from SC Johnson and Wendy Reed, Partner at Heenan Blaikie.  Visit www.pmalink.org/law2010 for full details about the conference.

Ad Age and The NY Times have both covered the guides announcement.

Comments to the FTC are due by December 10,2010.

See www.ftc.gov.

Just ’cause this is pretty cool. Power schmoozing has now been taken to the next level.

H/T to Guy Kawasaki