Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ADVERTISING NEWS: Second plastic lumber company settles deceptive advertising claims, (Jul 17, 2014)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

Engineered Plastics Systems, LLC (EPS) has become the second plastic lumber company to settle deceptive advertising claims with the FTC within the last two months, the Commission announced today. The FTC alleged that EPS ran ads and distributed marketing materials falsely representing that various products were made from virtually all recycled plastic (In the Matter of Engineered Plastic Systems, LLC, FTC File No. 132-3204).

EPS is an Illinois-based company that manufactures and sells an assortment of plastic lumber products, such as picnic tables and benches. According to the Commission’s complaint, the company claimed that some of its products were “made entirely of recycled plastic lumber;” “all recycled plastic design;” or “constructed using 2x4 recycled plastic lumber profiles.” However, the FTC alleged that EPS’ tables and benches, from June 2011 to early 2014, were only approximately 72 percent recycled plastic and contained some non-recycled plastic.

“This is the second case the FTC has brought in the last two months related to environmental claims for plastic lumber products,” stated FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich. “Companies know that consumers are increasingly looking to buy products with ‘green’ attributes. But companies can’t sell products by [making] false environmental claims—that’s against the law.”

According to the settlement agreement, EPS will be prohibited from making any representations regarding the recycled content of any product or package or the environmental benefit of any product or package, unless the representation is true, not misleading, and is supported by scientific evidence. In addition, the company will be required to maintain and provide, upon request and for a period of five years, any advertisements and promotional materials that contain such representations; all materials relied on in disseminating the representation; and all scientific evidence that qualify or question the validity of the representation.

American Plastic Lumber, Inc. settled similar claims over the post-consumer recycled plastics content of its products in June 2014.

Companies: Engineered Plastic Systems, LLC

News: Advertising FederalTradeCommissionNews