According to DEFRA, a green claim should not:
Be vague or ambiguous
"we are now prioritising energy conservation, minimising of waste and the recycling of all our papers"
Common sense cost saving measures dressed up as environmental concerns, in the absence of anything else to say. Printing companies are paid for their waste paper.
Common sense cost saving measures dressed up as environmental concerns, in the absence of anything else to say. Printing companies are paid for their waste paper.
Imply more than it actually covers
"All of our waste paper is recycled and our used aluminimum printing plates
are also recycled"
Common sense cost saving measures dressed up as environmental concerns, in the absence of anything else to say. Printing companies are paid for their waste paper and printing plates.
Common sense cost saving measures dressed up as environmental concerns, in the absence of anything else to say. Printing companies are paid for their waste paper and printing plates.
Make comparisons
"Our state of the art production technology and our sustainably managed raw materials and natural resources, ensure Discovery office paper is of the highest quality, guaranteeing better results than standard economy 80g/m2 paper and traditional recycled products."
This example manages to contravene most of the DEFRA guidelines.
This example manages to contravene most of the DEFRA guidelines.
Imply that a product or service is exceptional
"prides itself on being an eco friendly printing company that works directly with businesses to create solutions for all business printing services, no matter how big or small they might be. Your business can get the exact same printed materials that it gets from other printing services, but now they can be printed in an environmentally friendly manner."
Vague - surely this kind of marketing approach doesn't work?
Vague - surely this kind of marketing approach doesn't work?
Use language that exaggerates
"All of our products are printed using vegetable based inks."
Oh no they're not - they don't exist for all ink types or print processes.
Oh no they're not - they don't exist for all ink types or print processes.
Imply that a product or service is endorsed
"with our highly commendable status as a green FSC printer"
The most commonly encountered misleading environmental claim: FSC certification is nothing to do with day-to-day performance, the dirtiest printing company can be FSC certified.
The most commonly encountered misleading environmental claim: FSC certification is nothing to do with day-to-day performance, the dirtiest printing company can be FSC certified.