Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: FTC Instructs Marine Stewardship Council on Compliance with Environmental Marketing Rules, (May 31, 2013)

By Tobias J. Gillett, J.D., LL.M.

The FTC has sent a letter, advising the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) on ways to ensure that its “Certified Sustainable Seafood” label complies with the FTC Act and the FTC’s Environmental Marketing Guides (the “Green Guides”). The MSC requested public comment as part of its current review of its certification process.

The letter emphasizes that the MSC should adopt standards for its label that “are grounded in sound science, which should be objectively applied.” Moreover, it should “convey information that is truthful, and that does not deceive consumers.” The letter notes that the Green Guides provide guidance on avoiding such deception, and that “under the FTC Act advertisers are responsible for both the express and implied claims taken from their advertisements.”

The letter urges the MSC to take into account the way consumers may view the labels.

“The MSC, and any other third-party certifier, should consider consumer perception when developing or reviewing a certification system,” the letter remarks. “If a certifier permitted practices that reasonable consumers found inconsistent with their interpretation of the seal, the certifier should change the seal or change the certification process to comport with that understanding.”

The MSC operates a certification program that develops standards for sustainable fishing and seafood traceability, and permits seafood products meeting those standards to display labels indicating their compliance.

The FTC’s letter notes that it “is not intended in any way to imply that the MSC, or any of the licensees using its label, have, or have not, violated the FTC Act,” but “emphasizes that the MSC’s ‘Certified Sustainable Seafood’ label, when used in the United States,” must comply with that law.

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews