July 3, 2008 - Britain's Advertising Standards Authority is on a tear, citing both Fiat and EasyJet in the past two weeks over not-quite-kosher claims for low-emissions vehicles and air travel, respectively.

In their ads, Fiat pictured their lowest C02 emissions-producing models while quoting the price for the less expensive models with considerably higher C02 emissions figures. The ASA noted that the ad gave the impression that their low-emissions cars are cheaper than they are and concluded the ads were misleading.

EasyJet implied in their ads that their aircraft emitted 22% less CO2 than other aircrafts and did not clearly indicate that this figure was based on emissions per passenger and not emissions produced by the aircraft. The ASA reported, “We considered that, without qualification, the claim was likely to mislead.”

Neither company got more than a slight scolding, but it’s more evidence that the advertising watchdog is not taking environmental claims lightly. In recent months the ASA has considered claims against Shell and the U.S. cotton industry to be misleading to consumers.

Over on this side of the Atlantic the Federal Trade Commission and Canada’s Competition Bureau are also beginning to crack down on greenwashers. The Competition Bureau released their guidelines for environmental claims in June and in January the FTC began a series of public hearings on the issue in preparation for revising its environmental marketing guidelines.