Appended to Cliffdale Assoc., Inc., 103 FTC 110, 174 (1984).
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See, e.g., FTC v. Int’l Research and Dev. Corp. of Nevada, No. 04C 6901 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 27, 2004).
36
Nonprofit Mgmt. LLC, Docket No. C-4315 (Jan. 11, 2011).
37
Dyna-E Int’l, Inc., Docket No. 9336 (Dec. 15, 2009); Kmart Corp., Docket No. C-4263 (July 15, 2009);
38
Tender Corp., Docket No. C-4261 (July 13, 2009).
CSE, Inc., Docket No. C-4276 (Dec. 15, 2009); Pure Bamboo, LLC, Docket No. C-4274 (Dec. 15,
39
2009); Sami Designs, LLC, Docket No. C-4275 (Dec. 15, 2009); The M Group, Inc., Docket No. 9340 (Apr. 2,
2010). The Commission also brought five enforcement actions related to deceptive energy claims, involving
exaggerated claims about home insulation and false claims about fuel-saving devices for motor vehicles. See United
States v. Enviromate, LLC, No. 09-CV-00386 (N.D. Ala. Mar. 2, 2009); United States v. Meyer Enters., LLC, No.
09-CV-1074 (C.D. Ill. Mar. 2, 2009); United States v. Edward Sumpolec, No. 6:09-CV-379-ORL-35 (M.D. Fla. Feb.
26, 2009); FTC v. Dutchman Enters., LLC, No. 09-141-FSH (D.N.J. Jan. 12, 2009); FTC v. Five Star Auto Club,
Inc., No. 99-CIV-1963 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 15, 2008); see also Long Fence & Home, LLLP, Docket No. C-4352 (Apr. 5,
2012); Serious Energy, Inc., Docket No. C-4359 (May 16, 2012); Gorell Enters., Inc., Docket No. C-4360 (May 16,
10
determining how reasonable consumers are likely to respond.” Marketers therefore must
35
understand who their customers are, and how their advertisements will be interpreted by those
customers. Marketers should be aware, however, that their claims may ultimately be passed
down to individual consumers. Therefore, they should be careful not to provide other businesses
with the means and instrumentalities to engage in deceptive conduct.
36
Moreover, the Commission agrees that enforcement is a key component of greater
compliance. Therefore, in recent years it has stepped up enforcement against companies making
deceptive environmental claims. For example, the Commission sued a company for providing
environmental certifications to any businesses willing to pay a fee without considering their
products’ environmental attributes. Additionally, the Commission announced three actions
37
charging marketers with making false and unsubstantiated claims that their products were
biodegradable. The Commission also charged four sellers of clothing and other textile products
38
with deceptively labeling and advertising these items as made of bamboo fiber, manufactured
using an environmentally friendly process, and/or biodegradable. In another case, the
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