These cases continue EPA's efforts to eliminate claims for treated articles that contain antimicrobial agents. Although the enforcement cases are narrowly focused on certain claims, the language of EPA's enforcement policy is broader. The Antimicrobial Treated Article Coalition, whose members produce both the antimicrobial active ingredients and the treated articles themselves, contends that truthful claims about products and their antimicrobial characteristics should be permitted, and that registration of articles treated with antimicrobial agents should not be required unless a claim is made that the article provides protection against specific human disease organisms. We respectfully disagree that these generic terms always describe a direct benefit to human health. We believe that consumers should be allowed to make their own decisions about what characteristics are important in the products they purchase, and that consumers know that control of microorganisms which cause odor or stains in products is an important benefit.
Consumers can judge for themselves whether such products work.
Manufacturers should be able to provide consumers with information to differentiate products with these benefits from competing products which do not. Consumers and companies have come to rely on these useful products for many years, and antimicrobial protection is frequently specified in private as well as military and other purchasing specifications. All of these products are now in jeopardy if any marketing materials mention that the article contains antimicrobial protection. Consumers have come to expect and demand the increased lifespan and improved quality of antimicrobial treated products. The public and the industry need clear standards from EPA on what kinds of claims can be made and what those claims mean.