Hunton Retail Law Resource

The FTC has proposed amendments to its Energy Labeling Rule. The Rule requires manufacturers to attach yellow EnergyGuide labels providing estimated annual energy cost, energy consumption, and a comparability range to covered products, and prohibits retailers from removing these labels or rendering them illegible. The Rule also requires sellers, including retailers, to post label information on websites and in paper catalogs from which consumers can order products.

The FTC’s amendments reorganize the way products are listed and labeling requirements are set forth in the Rule, with an eye towards making it easier for stakeholders to identify relevant covered products, particularly for categories such as lighting, which contain several different product types and exemptions. The FTC also proposes to remove obsolete references to provisions related to products produced decades ago.

FTC Commissioner Christine Wilson dissented from the agency’s proposal, stating that the Rule was unnecessarily prescriptive and “is laden with many additional commandments that go far beyond what is necessary to fulfill [the Commission’s] obligation under the relevant statute.