US Watchdog Set to Clamp Down on Misleading Green Buzzwords

Sustainable. Natural. Carbon neutral.

These are some of the labels that have become ubiquitous in the world of eco-conscious consumerism and that experts say are prone to deceive or mislead. Americans may get more clarity on those terms and others when the nation’s consumer watchdog updates its environmental guidance for marketers for the first time in a decade.

This year the Federal Trade Commission is set to start revising its so-called Green Guides, in what will likely be a years-long process. Although the guidance doesn’t carry the weight of regulation, making false environmental claims has proved costly for companies: Walmart Inc. and Kohl’s Corp. agreed in April to ...