Division of Advertising Practices 

Dwight D. Lueck 

Barnes & Thornberg LLP 

11 South Meridian Street 

Indianapolis, IN 56204 

United States of America 

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

Washington, DC 20580 

November 9, 2011 

Re: Kent Nutrition Group, Inc., File No. 112-3161 

Dear Mr. Lueck: 

The staff of the Federal Trade Commission's Division of Advertising Practices has 

conducted an investigation into whether your client, Kent Nutrition Group, Inc., violated Section 

5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45, in connection with its promotion and 

advertising for its product, World's Best Cat LitterTM ("WBCL"), following a referral from the 

National Advertising Division of the Council for Better Business Bureaus. Our inquiry focused 

on Kent's claims that WBCL is biodegradable, flushable, and septic-safe. Section 5 of the FTC 

Act requires that advertising claims be truthful and non-misleading. In addition, certain types of 

claims, such as environmental benefit claims, require that an advertiser possess competent and 

reliable scientific evidence substantiating the claims, prior to dissemination. We were concerned 

that Kent's biodegradable, flushable, and septic-safe claims were not adequately substantiated. 

Specifically, Kent claimed that WBCL was biodegradable and its promotional materials 

did not define, describe, or qualify the biodegradable claim. Although the advertising and 

packaging also stated that the product was flushable, this claim did not modify the biodegradable 

claim; i.e., it did not state the product is biodegradable only when flushed. Accordingly, 

consumers may have reasonably believed the product was biodegradable whether it was flushed 

or thrown away with the regular trash. The FTC's Guides for the Use of Environmental 

Marketing Claims, 16 C.F.R. Part 260 ("Green Guides"), explain that "[a]n unqualified claim 

that a product or package is degradable, biodegradable or photodegradable should be 

substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence that the entire product or package 

will completely break down and return to nature, i.e., decompose into elements found in nature 

within a reasonably short period of time after customary disposal." 16. C.F.R. § 260.7(b). We 

believe that the customary method of disposal for cat litter is trash disposal. If consumers 

dispose of the cat litter in their regular trash, this disposal method does not present conditions 

that would allow for the cat litter to biodegrade. I 

1 Approximately 91 percent of total municipal solid waste in the United States is disposed of in either 

landfills, incinerators, or recycling facilities. 
21Page 

Dwight Lueck, Esq. 

Kent also claimed that WBCL was flushable and septic-safe. To adequately substantiate 

such claims, an advertiser must possess and rely upon testing that addresses consumers' 

reasonable and expected usage of the product, which here would include daily flushing of cat 

litter potentially for years, and the effects of long-term, large-scale introduction of cat litter waste 

into individual septic or wastewater treatment systems. 

Upon careful review of this matter, including non-public information submitted t9 the 

staff, we have determined not to recommend enforcement action at this time. Among the factors 

we considered is your decision to take steps to address the concerns expressed by the FTC staff. 

First, you informed us that Kent has ceased making biodegradable, flushable, and septic-safe 

claims on its website and in point-of-sale materials, and is taking steps to remove these claims 

from WBCL packaging. Second, you informed us that Kent has contracted with an outside 

expert to conduct additional testing ofWBCL and will only resume these claims if the testing 

results support them. The FTC staff expects that Kent will carefully review its claims and 

substantiation to ensure all future advertising complies with the FTC Act. 

Our decision not to pursue enforcement action is not to be construed as a determination 

that a violation may not have occurred, just as the pendency of an investigation should not be 

construed as a determination that a violation has occurred. The Commission reserves the right to 

take such further action as the public interest may warrant. 

cc: Andrea Levine 

National Advertising Division 

70 W. 36th Street, 13th Floor 

New York, NY 10018 

Very truly yours, 

��.� 

Associate Director