FTC Nails Green Certification Company

There is probably some law of nature – similar to the law of gravity – that provides that every business initiative will spawn some sort of scam. And so it is with the “green” movement. The FTC announced this week that it has entered into an agreement with a company called “Tested Green” and its owner Jeremy Ryan Claeys. It seems that Tested Green offered environmental certifications to customers that it solicited via mass e-mails. The problem for Tested Green is that it never really tested anything, and the only thing green related to its certification was the cash that customers paid for the bogus seals. The FTC charged Tested Green with violating the FTC Act by providing other companies with “the means to deceive consumers.” The FTC also alleges that Tested Green deceived consumers by citing its endorsements from the National Green Business Association and the National Association of Government Contractors. They sound like reputable, independent reviewers, except that both of them were owned and operated by Claeys.