The National Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business Bureaus recommended that TransFair USA require its licensees to stop ¨fair washing¨ personal-care brands by allowing brands to market their product as fair trade when only 2% to 5% of their ingredients meet the qualifications for Fair Trade. Avon and other personal care products for example, have prominently used Fair Trade seals and language that deceptively imply that majority of the product´s ingredients are certified as Fair Trade. The NAD determined that TransFair USA´s authorized marketing materials “do not convey an accurate message regarding the actual amount of fair-trade certified ingredients” in personal-care products.
Read the NAD press release here
Though TransFair USA and Avon have both agreed to comply with the NAD recommendations, these steps represent a small step forward in eliminating ¨fair washing¨ from the marketplace. TransFair USA must restrict the use of its seal to products that have a majority of fair trade ingredients.
Go further! Send a letter to the Federal Trade Commission in support of legally binding measures to restrict “fair washing” claims in the marketplace.
Read the OCA and Dr. Bronner’s complaint to the FTC
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