12.2.5.19

Recycled content:

1. A. It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to make a recycled content claim unless the materials for which the claim is made have been recovered or otherwise diverted from the solid waste stream, either during the manufacturing process (pre-consumer) or after consumer use (post-consumer). To the extent that the source of recycled content includes pre-consumer material, the manufacturer or advertiser must have substantiation for concluding that the pre-consumer material would otherwise have entered the solid waste stream. In asserting a recycled content claim, distinctions may be made between pre-consumer and post-consumer materials. Where such distinctions are asserted, any express or implied claim about the specific pre-consumer or post-consumer content of a product or package must be substantiated.

2. B. It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is made of recycled material. Unqualified claims of recycled content may be made only if the entire product or package, excluding minor incidental components, is made from recycled material. For products or packages that are only partially made of recycled material, a recycled claim must be adequately qualified to avoid consumer deception about amount, by weight, of recycled content in the finished product or package.

   [5/1/98; Recompiled 10/15/01]