NAD Tells Clorox to Clean Up Ads

August 17, 2008

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The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus recently told Clorox Company to discontinue or modify some of the ads for its Clorox Green Works. This comes after the product was challenged by S.C. Johnson & Son Inc., for making dubious claims, ConsumerReport.org reports.

After reviewing Clorox Green Works performance test results and investigating the questionable claims, the NAD found that Clorox should clarify in its advertising that Green Works products work as well as traditional cleaners, but only when it comes to most soils. Without the clarification, the NAD says the ads could imply the products work as well at killing germs as cleaners that contain disinfectants, or as well as leading competitors on the toughest grease stains– the Clorox TV commercial features a side-by-side comparison of Green Works vs. a “Leading All-Purpose Cleaner.”

Some the claims in question included:
- Green Works cleaning products work just as well as traditional cleaners
- Green Works All-Purpose Cleaner cuts through this greasy mess as well as the leading spray cleaner
- Green Works cleaning products works as well as conventional cleaners

Although Clorox said it strongly disagrees with NAD’s finding, it has agreed to modify its general claims to be specific.

In June, over 6,000 signatures were collected for a petition urging Clorox to redesign its Brita filter cartridges and implement a water filter recycling program similar to Brita’s in Europe.

At the start of this year, following in the footsteps of Clorox’s announcement that Green Works will carry the logo of the Sierra Club, S.C. Johnson also launched a line of eco-friendly products.

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