The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") recently announced that it reached an agreement with five companies that sell replacement windows, settling allegations that they made false claims about how much money consumers could save on their heating and cooling bills by having these windows installed. This settlement is another example of the FTC's broad efforts to ensure that environmental marketing is truthful and based on solid scientific evidence.
According to the FTC, the five companies engaged in deceptive practices by making unsupported energy efficiency and money-savings claims – in some cases, that consumers could cut their energy bills in half by using replacement windows alone.
The proposed settlement orders prohibit each company from falsely claiming that:
- consumers who replace their current windows with those of the company will achieve up to, or a specified amount or percentage of energy savings, or a reduction in their heating or cooling costs; or
- that a specific number or percentage of consumers who replace their windows with the company''s will achieve energy savings or reduced heating or cooling costs.
The order also requires the companies to have competent and reliable scientific evidence to substantiate that "all or almost all" consumers are likely to achieve the maximum savings claimed. In addition, if the advertised performance is limited to certain circumstances, the order also requires the companies to clearly and prominently disclose any limitations.
The proposed settlement order will be subject to public comment for 30 days, until March 23, 2012, at which point the FTC will decide whether to make it final. Written comments can be sent to: FTC, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20580. A copy of the press release, which contains links to where comments can be filed electronically, is available here.
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