Environmental Claims on Lawn Care Services

The Competition Bureau initiated an inquiry following a six-resident complaint regarding vague environmental claims made by a lawn care service company.

The company was making environmental claims which could give the general impression that chemical pesticides used are safe and not harmful to the environment. Given the toxic nature of some of the chemical pesticides being used by the company in some of its services, the claims were alleged to be contrary to the false or misleading representation provisions of the Competition Act.

The Bureau discussed the issue with company officials who agreed to:

1. Make a distinction between services that include the application of chemical pesticides and those that do not;
2. Refrain from making representations that could give the general impression that chemical pesticides are not harmful to the environment or are not being used when promoting services that may include the application of chemical pesticides.

The inquiry was discontinued on April 28, 2003.

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