Responses to: Competition Bureau Seeks Comments on Environmental Claims Publication Office of Consumers Affairs

Mr. Raymond Pierce

Deputy Commissioner

Fair Business Practices Branch

Competition Bureau Canada

Place du Portage 1

50 Victoria Street

Gatineau, Quebec K1 A OC9

Dear Mr. Ray,

Thank you for your letter of March 5, 2007, inviting the Office of Consumer

Affairs to provide comments on the proposed "Environmental claims - A guide for industry and advertisers."

We concur with the draft Guide's premise that Canadian consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental performance of products, and thus increasingly demand environmental information. We are also aware that there is a wide range of descriptors, logos, vignettes and other representations used to describe or imply environmental claims. While these descriptors can be helpful, they can also lead to consumer confusion. As your Guide may improve the quality of the disclosures made to consumers at the source, it will be a welcome tool in the marketplace.

The draft Guide provides useful guidance to industry on how to interpret and apply the IS0 14021 standards. The numerous illustrative examples are likely to be particularly helpful to industry and advertisers in providing meaningful information to consumers as well as in complying with relevant legislation.

Further, the Office of Consumer Affairs would be prepared to support this effort by developing a companion information piece for consumers, drawing on the information and examples in the Guide to help them use the information that businesses provide. This would build on the very successful collaboration between our two organizations on textile care labelling guidance for businesses and consequent information for consumers, and is a logical part of the Office's role in promoting sustainable consumption.

I look forward to speaking with you on the follow-on work I propose above. I will ask my assistant to arrange a telephone call with you sometime in the next few weeks to discuss.

Yours truly,

Michael Jenkin

Director General