FTC says two paint companies misled consumers about VOC levels

Federal Trade Commission says two paint manufacturers claimed falsely that some of their products lacked harmful chemicals.

PPG Architectural Finishes and Sherwin-Williams misled consumers when they sold tinted paint products that were marketed as containing no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), FTC says. Although base paints that aren’t tinted might have no VOCs, the tinted paints that PPG and Sherwin-Williams sold have trace amounts of VOCs, FTC says.

PPG and Sherwin-Willliams have agreed to stop making claims about their respective interior paint products that were in question, Pure Performance and Dutch Boy Refresh.

Consumers Digest reported on paint and VOCs in the July/August 2009 article, “Mixed Messages: A Fresh Look at ‘Green’ Paint.”