Katie Bond Quoted in Trellis Article on Risks of ‘Clean’ and ‘Toxic’ Claims

Keller and Heckman Partner Katie Bond was quoted in the Trellis article, “Advertising watchdog calls out PlantPaper’s dirty talk.” The article highlights a recent National Advertising Division (NAD) case involving various green claims and safety claims by PlantPaper for its toilet paper made from bamboo.

“There are lots of consumer class actions happening around ‘clean’ and ‘better for you’ type claims,” said Katie. “And at the NAD, we’re seeing, over and over, established consumer brands challenge advertising by those new market entrants offering products intended to be better for people or better for the planet.” In the case of PlantPaper, a coalition of established tree-based toilet paper brands brought the challenge.

New companies with limited resources often push the envelope on advertising in the beginning, according to attorney Bond. “The trick is to pivot, once challenged, to make claims align better with existing regulatory guidance and case law — all while not losing the zing of the original advertising,” she said. “Companies like PlantPaper that have already done significant testing on their product tend to manage that pivot just fine.”

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