The Green Prospects

“[The CCC] is about being responsible to consumers. DMA member companies will have to change things whether they’ve been thinking green or not,” summarizes Brophy.

Part of being responsible, of course, is legitimacy. “Green washing, pretending to be green but not really, will not play well to those in the know,” says Goldsmith. And soon it may come with a price, as the Federal Trade Commission just announced it would speed up its decade-old “green” marketing guidelines because so many businesses are convincing customers to buy certificates or pay premiums for supposedly environmentally friendly projects or practices.