Administrative Law Judge Issues Initial Decision in the ECM Biofilms, Inc. Case

In an Initial Decision announced today, the Federal Trade Commission’s Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), D. Michael Chappell, ruled that plastics additive manufacturer ECM Biofilms, Inc. violated the FTC Act by deceptively claiming, and providing others with the means to claim, that plastics treated with ECM additives (ECM Plastics) would completely biodegrade in a landfill within nine months to five years, and that tests proved this claim. The Order accompanying the Initial Decision would bar ECM from representing that any product or package will completely biodegrade within any time period – or that tests prove such a representation – unless: 1) the representation is true and not misleading, and 2) at the time it is made, ECM possesses and relies upon competent and reliable scientific evidence that substantiates the representation. The Order also would bar ECM and related entities from providing others with the means and instrumentalities to make such deceptive claims. For further information regarding this ruling, contact SGIA’s Government & Business Information department at govtaffairs@sgia.org.