Jointly produced by the

Federal Trade Commission

and the U.S. Postal Service

November 1998

1 2

Making

Environmental

Marketing Claims

on Mail

Facts

for Business

The environment

makes a difference

to your customers:

F More than 75% of the public will

switch to a brand associated with

the environment when price and

quality are equal.

F Nealy 60% of the public favors

organizations that support the

environment.

Source: The 1997 Roper Green Gauge Reports

You can help the environment by

reducing waste, promoting recycling,

and conserving resourcesjust by the

way you design your mail.

The U.S. Postal Service wants to

prevent waste, improve recyclability,

and increase the recycled content of

mail. This brochure tells you how to

make truthful environmental claims

about your mail so your customers

who care about the environment will

know you care and so your claims

won't interfere with USPS mail processing. The tips are based on the

Federal Trade Commission's Guides

for the Use of Environmental

Makreting Claims.

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Make Environmental Claims Specific

Be specific. Avoid implying significant

environmental benefit if the benefit is slight.

Vague claims, such as environmentally

friendly, earth friendly, or environmentally

safe may lead consumers to believe that the

product has environmental benefits it

doesn't actually have. Qualify those terms to

clarify the environmental attribute you are

claiming.

Be clear. Use words that consumers understand. If the words are industry jargonor

if they can be misinterpreteddon't use

them.

Be definitive. Your claim should specify

whether the environmental benefit refers to

the mailpiece, its contents, or both.

Define Environmental Symbols

Symbols can help communicate environmental messages to your customers, but it's

important to explain them.

For example, the three-chasing-arrows

symbol means that the mailpiece

is both recycled and

recyclable. If you want

to indicate only one of

these claims, say which one.

When you use the three-chasing-arrows

symbol for a recycled content claim, disclose the percentage, by weight, of the

recycled material if it is less than 100

percent.
345

You may include the term "postconsumer"

contentpaper recovered after consumers

have used itif you can substantiate it.

Your paper supplier must be able to substantiate your claim.

If you use the three-chasing-arrows symbol

to indicate that the product is recyclable,

you should be able to substantiate that

recycling collection programs for the particular product are available to a substantial

majority of consumers or communities. If

not, qualify the claim with an appropriate

statement like "recyclable in towns with

mixed paper recycling."

Consider the Overall Message

F Make sure that your messagethe

symbol you use or the statement you

makeis not misleading.

F Even if the exact claim is correct, the

claim may be deceptive if you omit

essential information or present facts in

a misleading way.

F A claim may be misleading if it implies

something that is not true.

Verify Claims in Advance

Before you make an environmental claim,

make sure it is correct and can be substantiated.

For example, if you claim that a mailpiece is

recyclable, you must make sure that it can

be collected for recycling by a substantial

majority of consumers who receive it.

Otherwise, you must qualify your claim

with an appropriate statement like "Collection sites for recycling this mailpiece have

been established in a dozen major metropolitan areas."

Place Claims in Proper Location for

Mail Processing

Place your claim on the mailpiece so it

meets U.S. Postal Service requirements for

mail processing. Keep it out of the postage,

return address, and optical character reader

address areas as well as the barcode and

remote barcode clear zones. On the back of

the mailpiece, keep it 5/8 inch or more

above the bottom. If placing it on the front

of the mailpiece, put it in the far lower lefthand corner, no more than 5/8 inch above

the bottom.

For More Information

To learn more about the FTC's Guides for

the Use of Environmental Marketing

Claims, visit www.ftc.gov on the Internet.

Or contact:

Consumer Response Center

Federal Trade Commission

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20580

Or call toll-free:

1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357)

For help on putting an environmental claim

on your mailpiece, call the U.S. Postal

Service Customer Service Center, 1-800-

275-8777, and ask for the Postal Business

Center nearest you. Or locate nearby

Business Centers at www.usps.com under

Business. Click on Business Service Centers.

OCR Address Area

Return Address Area Postage

Area

Barcode Clear Zone

RBCS Clear Zone

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