16 CFR § 260.9 - Free-of claims.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t16/s260.9"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "16 CFR § 260.9 - Free-of claims."
title_number: 16
title_name: "Commercial Practices"
section_number: "260.9"
section_name: "Free-of claims."
chapter_name: "FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION"
subchapter_number: "B"
subchapter_name: "GUIDES AND TRADE PRACTICE RULES"
part_number: "260"
part_name: "GUIDES FOR THE USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETING CLAIMS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "15 U.S.C. 41-58."
regulatory_source: "77 FR 62124, Oct. 11, 2012, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "260"
---


# 260.9 Free-of claims.

(a) It is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product, package, or service is free of, or does not contain or use, a substance. Such claims should be clearly and prominently qualified to the extent necessary to avoid deception.

(b) A truthful claim that a product, package, or service is free of, or does not contain or use, a substance may nevertheless be deceptive if:

(1) The product, package, or service contains or uses substances that pose the same or similar environmental risks as the substance that is not present; or

(2) The substance has not been associated with the product category.

(c) Depending on the context, a free-of or does-not-contain claim is appropriate even for a product, package, or service that contains or uses a trace amount of a substance if:

(1) The level of the specified substance is no more than that which would be found as an acknowledged trace contaminant or background level 
<sup>47</sup>
[^];

<sup>47</sup> “Trace contaminant” and “background level” are imprecise terms, although allowable manufacturing “trace contaminants” may be defined according to the product area concerned. What constitutes a trace amount or background level depends on the substance at issue, and requires a case-by-case analysis.

(2) The substance's presence does not cause material harm that consumers typically associate with that substance; and

(3) The substance has not been added intentionally to the product.