April 16, 2008 - Americans frequently misunderstand key phrases commonly used in environmental marketing and advertising, a new survey finds. The kicker? Most Americans think they've got a pretty good handle on green terminology.

The 2008 Green Gap Survey, conducted by branding firm Cone and the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, exposes the growing gap between what companies say about their green products and what consumers actually hear. For example, nearly half (48%) of U.S. consumers believe a product marketed as "green" or "environmentally friendly" has a positive, or beneficial, impact on the environment. Only 22% understand these terms more accurately describe products with less negative environmental impact than previous versions or competing products. Yet 61% of Americans say they understand the environmental terms companies use in their advertising.

Interestingly, more than half of Americans (59%) support stricter regulation of green marketing messages, even though most claim to understand them perfectly. At issue is brand trust: Just 45% of consumers believe companies are accurately communicating information about their impact on the environment, 47% trust companies tell the truth in their green marketing claims.

Another recent survey supports these findings. According to Burst Media, one in five (22%) consumers say they seldom or never believe green claims made in advertisements. Two-thirds (65%) of respondents say they "sometimes" believe green claims made in advertisements, and 12% say they "always" believe green advertising claims.

Skeptical consumers want to be able to investigate claims and many do, according to Burst. Forty-one percent of consumers frequently or occasionally research the claims made in green advertisements. Four out of five (79%) respondents use the internet to conduct personal research on green initiatives and products.

The upshot, according to the Cone researchers, is that consumers' knowledge gap on green claims gives products a greater environmental halo than they deserve - and thereby creating a growing risk of backlash.

"The gap creates significant risk of embarrassment for companies and disillusionment for consumers," according to Mike Lawrence, executive vice president of corporate responsibility at Cone. "Activists are closely monitoring green claims and can quickly share information online about the actual environmental impact of a product. The result can be accusations that a company is engaging in greenwashing and is misleading the public."

On April 30, the FTC will conduct the second in a series of public workshops to review its green marketing guidelines.