Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether Goodyear EcoReady tires may be misleadingly marketed as being made with “70% sustainable materials” when some portion of that percentage may be based on mass-balance accounting rather than physical sustainable material contained in each tire.
Goodyear markets its EcoReady tire as being “made with 70 percent sustainable materials.” Goodyear’s definition of a sustainable material can include materials associated with conservation or emission-reduction practices, including materials attributed through ISCC PLUS mass-balance accounting, which Goodyear itself describes as assigning sustainability characteristics through verifiable bookkeeping.
EcoReady tires may also contain physically identifiable sustainable materials such as soybean oil, rice-husk-derived silica, or other renewable and recycled inputs. The issue under investigation is therefore not whether EcoReady contains any sustainable material.
Migliaccio & Rathod is investigating whether the prominent “70% sustainable materials” representation causes consumers to believe that approximately 70% of the physical tire consists of sustainable, recycled, renewable, or bio-based material, when some portion of the claimed percentage may instead be attributed through accounting.
Because consumers can spend hundreds or more than a thousand dollars on a set of tires, environmental representations may materially influence purchasing decisions.
Consumers May Have Experienced:
- Purchasing Goodyear EcoReady tires advertised as containing 70% sustainable materials;
- Believing that approximately 70% of the physical tire consisted of sustainable materials;
- Choosing EcoReady over competing tires because of its sustainability claims;
- Paying a premium because of the “70% sustainable materials” representation;
- Not understanding that mass-balance accounting could be used in determining the percentage; or
- Seeing the 70% claim prominently advertised without a clear explanation of how the percentage was calculated.
Potential Claims May Include:
- False or misleading advertising;
- Misleading sustainability representations;
- Deceptive trade practices;
- Breach of express warranty;
- Unjust enrichment; and
- Price-premium damages.
Signs You May Be Affected:
- You purchased Goodyear EcoReady tires;
- The “70% sustainable materials” representation influenced your purchase;
- You believed the claim referred to the physical composition of the tires;
- You selected EcoReady because of its environmental or sustainability claims;
- You did not understand that mass-balance accounting could contribute to the advertised percentage; or
- You have receipts, advertisements, screenshots, or other materials showing the sustainability representation.
If you purchased Goodyear EcoReady tires because of their advertised sustainable-material content, we would like to hear from you. Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or give us a call.