Vermont law specifies which products may be labeled and marketed with terms such as “locally grown” and “made in Vermont.” This law is important to protect the integrity and name recognition of the Vermont brand. If your business is intending to use the Vermont name when labeling or branding products, be sure to check out this helpful guidance and review the following rules.
Greenwashing is a marketing, public relations and sales strategy designed to make a company or product appear environmentally friendly, or “green” when the claims being made have little or no meaningful impact on reducing environmental harms. Greenwashing harms individual consumers as well as the broader marketplace.
As more consumers make purchases or seek services from companies that engage in unfair and deceptive practices such as greenwashing, more consumers are likely to be mislead into making purchases they believe will benefit the environment.
Marketplace Impact
Companies that engage in such deception gain an unfair advantage in the marketplace over businesses that make honest and accurate claims about the environmental impact of their products or services, or that decline to make any such representations.
Are there rules against greenwashing?
Federal and state statutes, rules and guidance prohibit environmental (green) marketing and advertising claims that are unfair or deceptive to consumers.
As we get ready for Eclipse Day, before you gaze at the sun, take a moment to double-check that you have the proper eyewear. Not all “eclipse glasses” claiming to meet specific safety standards and ISO compliance requirements will be safe for viewing the sun.
Counterfeits will be sold, particularly on well-known online sale platforms. For this reason, the American Astronomical Society (linked from NASA) has compiled a list of “suppliers of safe solar filters & viewers.” On their website, they relayed that in 2017, they had advised for people to simply look for compliance markers, like that ISO 12312-2 international safety standard was met, however found “…the marketplace was flooded by counterfeit eclipse glasses that were labeled as ISO-compliant when in fact they had not been properly tested and shown to be safe” (AAS.org).
Before buying online, checkout the supplier information against the AAS’s approved list. If you opted to purchase your glasses from a local vendor or obtained a coveted free pair from a library, school or employer who may have placed an online bulk order, verify the supplier information printed on the product or ask the organization about the company that produced the glasses.
May you have clear skies and safe viewing on Eclipse Day!
Office Saves and Recovers More Than $1.89 million for Vermont Consumers
In recognition of National Consumer Protection Week, Attorney General Charity Clark announced the top 10 consumer complaints received by her office’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) in 2023. Claiming the list’s top spots are consumer complaints involving vehicles, home improvement, and retail, which collectively represent 43 percent of all complaints filed in 2023. Attorney General Clark also today released CAP’s 2023 Annual Report in which the program details its record-high recoveries and savings for Vermont consumers, totaling more than $1.89 million.
“Vermonters should know that they have rights as consumers. If you have a complaint to make, the Consumer Assistance Program is here to help,” said Attorney General Clark. “Every day, CAP helps consumers and businesses reach mutually beneficial resolutions without having to go to court. I am both proud of and inspired by their service.”
CAP is a 42-year-old program based at the University of Vermont in partnership with the Attorney General’s Office. The program’s primary goal is to address consumer problems in Vermont, which it does through its mediation service, outreach, and education. Staff, with the help of service-learning students, manage informal inquiries, provide referrals to resources, and engage in mediation of consumer complaints. In 2023, the program responded to 8,200 contacts, including reports of scams, and provided extensive mediation services on 1,251 consumer complaints.
While the top 10 consumer complaints of 2023 remained largely the same as those of 2022, there was a noticeable difference in fuel disputes reported last year. Fuel complaints slid down to the number 10 spot from number four in 2022. In 2023, CAP responded to 71 inquiries from fuel providers and consumers about the application of the “Propane Rule” – a consumer protection rule enforced by the Attorney General’s Office. The reduction in written complaints can be attributed to efficiencies implemented by CAP in 2023, which allowed staff to resolve complaints involving fuel more quickly and in real time thus removing the need for letter mediation. This improvement reduced the number of submitted complaints overall to 58 compared to 2022’s 120. A total of $34,813 was recovered in this area, resolving complaints about propane refund and tank removal delays, and nine consumers were able to have their heating services restored due to CAP’s intervention.
This year, like last, the top complaints reported to CAP were auto and home improvement complaints. CAP has made great strides in addressing the issue of home improvement by hiring a home improvement specialist in July of 2023. In the first six months on the job, the home improvement specialist recovered or saved Vermont homeowners more than $400,000.
More businesses are utilizing CAP’s mediation service as well. In Vermont, businesses can be considered consumers too under the Consumer Protection Act. Complaints filed by businesses increased from 53 in 2022 to 77 in 2023 with a 45 percent increase occurring between 2022 and 2023.
Vermonters experiencing consumer problems should contact the Consumer Assistance Program for help. The program is a useful resource for resolution and complaints filed help to identify problem trends in consumer areas. The CAP data is reviewed by the Vermont Legislature when considering consumer protection laws, for enforcement by the Attorney General’s Office, and for consumer education and outreach. Reach CAP by calling 1-800-649-2424 or online at ago.vermont.gov/cap.
A chart and table containing the Top 10 Complaints of 2023 is available here.
Learn about the Top 10 Consumer Complaints and CAP’s Annual Report on Across the Fence:
Across the Fence – 03/04/2024 Consumer Protection Week with VT AG Charity Clark
Have stuff you love? One might argue consumerism is all about the love people have for the things they buy. And consumer protection, well, that’s the promise that the sale of things will be clear and fair. Plain and simple. You love your stuff and so there are laws and rules that protect you as the consumer when you are buying things. Sometimes, people pay for things online that they never receive. For some, that’s heartbreak.
So, what do you do when the thing you committed to purchasing from a website never arrives as a package at your door as promised?
Try to discern whether the site is a scam or if the delivery delay was due to an error. Talk to friends and family about what happened and discuss. Do some browsing on the website. If pictures look pixelated and you notice spelling errors, the site is likely a fake.
Found a fake? Inform your financial institution to dispute the charges. For credit cards, you have 60 days from the time the transaction was posted on your credit card billing statement to file a chargeback dispute (some cards allow more time, but not all). This means there is a clock ticking on when you can file a claim with the credit card company. If the item never arrives and you have found the website to be a fake, it is unlikely the company itself will not issue a refund. In this scenario, filing a dispute with your credit card company is your best course of action for a refund.
The Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule is a Federal Rule that protects your mail, internet, or telephone orders of merchandise. What does the rule do?
Sellers can solicit orders by mail, internet, or telephone only when they have a reasonable basis to expect that they can ship the ordered merchandise within the time stated on the solicitation (if no time is stated, within 30 days).
If the seller cannot ship within the time stated (or 30 days, if no time is stated), the seller must get consent from the buyer to delay shipment.
Find something you love online? Protect your money. Take steps to verify the website is valid and perform online searches about others’ interactions with the site before buying. If you find that customers commonly say they do not get the product, or items are different than purchased, or advertised promises were not honored, look elsewhere. There is a chance the new thing you have come to love does not exist.
