Jan. 7, 2008 Ads from Chevrolet, BP, and Toyota are among the first to be scrutinized on a new website that allows consumers to evaluate the green claims made by major advertisers. Launched today, the Greenwashing Index arrives a day ahead of Federal Trade Commission hearings to amend its 1992 guidelines on green marketing.

"When an ad is posted and ranked on Greenwashing Index, it doesn't necessarily mean a company or organization is not doing a good job with its environmental marketing claims," says Valerie Davis, CEO of site cofounder EnviroMedia. "We're providing a venue that educates consumers on what to look for in green ads and an easy mechanism for evaluating them."

Users evaluate ads based on five greenwashing criteria:

• Misleading with words
• Misleading with visuals and/or graphics
• Making a green claim that is vague or seemingly unprovable
• Overstating or exaggerating how green the product/company/service actually is
• Leaving out or masking important information, making the green claim sound better than it is

The Greenwashing Index is a joint project of EnviroMedia Social Marketing and the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.