Business ProfileforCardio Renew, Inc

On December 24, 2020, BBB contacted this business regarding the claims made on their website. Despite several contacts, the business did not respond to BBB's request for substantiation or support of the claims.  Specifically BBB asked about the claims regarding: FDA registration; the 'limited time offers' that did not include an ending date, the free shipping offer, the biodegradable claims and the '100% satisfaction guarantee' which did not include information about how consumers may take advantage of the guarantee. BBB also asked for documentation to support the product effectiveness claims made on the website. BBB was unable to find neutral third-party documentation showing that the products listed on the website produced the claimed outcomes. 

BBB urges consumers to check with their health care professional before taking supplements.

1. Basic Principles of the Code
1.1 The primary responsibility for truthful and non-deceptive advertising rests with the advertiser. Advertisers should be prepared to substantiate any objective claims or offers made before publication or broadcast. Upon request, they should present such substantiation promptly to the advertising medium or BBB.
1.2 Advertisements which are untrue, misleading, deceptive, fraudulent, falsely disparaging of competitors, or insincere offers to sell, shall not be used.
1.3 An advertisement as a whole may be misleading by implication, although every sentence separately considered may be literally true.
1.4 Misrepresentation may result not only from direct statements, but by omitting or obscuring a material fact.

 14. “Free”
14.1 An advertiser may use the word “free” in advertising whenever the advertiser is offering an unconditional gift. If receipt of the “free” product or service is conditional on a purchase:
14.1.1 The advertiser must clearly and conspicuously disclose this condition with the “free” offer (not simply by placing an asterisk or symbol next to “free” and referring to the condition(s) in a footnote); and
14.1.2 The advertiser must not have increased the normal price of the product or service to be purchased nor reduced its quantity or quality.
14.2 The “free” offer should be temporary; otherwise, consumers may view it as a continuous combination offer, no part of which is free. Thus, where it would otherwise confuse consumers, a product or service must not be advertised with a “free” offer in a trade area for more than six (6) months in any 12 month period. At least thirty (30) days must elapse before another such offer is promoted in the same trade area.
14.3 In a negotiated sale, no “free” offer of a product or service should be made where it would likely mislead consumers, such as where:
14.3.1 The product or service to be purchased usually is sold at a price arrived through bargaining, rather than at a regular fixed price; or
14.3.2 There may be a regular price but other material factors such as quantity, quality or size are arrived at through bargaining.
14.4 Offers of “free” products or services which do not meet the provisions of this section may not be corrected by the substitution of such similar words such as “gift,” “given without charge,” “bonus,” “complimentary” or other words which can convey the impression to the consumer that a product or service is “free.”
14.5 Because the consumer continually searches for the best buy and regards the offer of “free” products or services to be a special bargain, all such offers must be made with extreme care so as to avoid any possibility that consumers will be misled or deceived. Representative language frequently used in such offers includes:
“Free”
“Buy 1-Get-1 Free”
“2-for-1 Sale”
“50% off with Purchase of Two”
“$1 Sale”
“1/2 Off”
“Gift with Purchase”
Literally, of course, the advertiser is not offering anything “free” (for example, an unconditional gift), or 1/2 free or 2 for 1 when making such an offer, since the consumer is required to purchase a product or service in order to receive the “free” or “2 for 1” item.
14.6 Whenever such an offer is made advertisers must make clear at the outset all the terms and conditions of the offer.

20. Warranties or Guarantees
20.1 When using the term “warranty” or “guarantee” in product advertising, the advertiser must clearly and conspicuously include a statement that the complete details of the warranty can be seen prior to sale at the advertiser's location, viewed on the advertiser’s website or, in the case of mail or telephone order sales, made available free on written request.
20.2 Advertisers should only use “satisfaction guarantee,” “money back guarantee,” “free trial offer,” or similar representations in advertising if the seller or manufacturer refunds the full purchase price of the advertised product or service at the consumer's request.
20.3 When “satisfaction guarantee” or similar representations are used in advertising, any material limitations or conditions that apply to the guarantee must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed.
20.4 When advertising “lifetime” warranties or guarantees or similar representations, the advertisement must clearly and conspicuously disclose its intended meaning of the term “lifetime.”
20.5 Sellers or manufacturers should advertise that a product or service is warranted or guaranteed only if the seller or manufacturer promptly and fully performs its obligations under the warranty or guarantee.

21. Layout and Illustrations
21.1 The composition and layout of advertisements should be such as to minimize the possibility of misunderstanding by the reader.
21.1.1 For example, prices, illustrations or descriptions must not be so placed or displayed in an advertisement as to give the impression that the price or terms of featured products or services apply to other products or services in the advertisement, when such is not the case.
27. Superiority Claims-Comparatives-Disparagement
27.1 Advertisers must not deceptively or falsely disparage a competitor or competing products or services in their advertising. Truthful comparisons using factual information may help consumers make informed buying decisions, provided:
27.1.1 All representations are consistent with the general rules and prohibitions against false and deceptive advertising;
27.1.2 All comparisons that claim or imply, unqualifiedly, superiority to competitive products or services are not based on a selected or limited list of characteristics in which the advertiser excels while ignoring those in which the competitor excels;
27.1.3 The advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses any material or significant limitations of the comparison; and
27.1.4 The advertiser can substantiate all claims made.

28. Objective Superlative Claims
Superlative statements in advertisements about the tangible qualities and performance values of a product or service are objective claims for which the advertiser must possess substantiation as they can be based upon accepted standards or tests. As statements of fact, such claims, like “#1 in new car sales in the city,” can be proved or disproved.

29. Subjective Puffery Claims
29.1 Expressions of opinion or personal evaluation of the intangible qualities of a product or service are likely to be considered puffery. Such claims are not subject to the test of truth and accuracy and would not need substantiation.
29.2 Puffery may include statements such as “best food in the world” and “we try harder” as well as other individual opinions, statements of corporate pride, exaggerations, blustering and boasting statements upon which no reasonable buyer would be justified in relying. Puffery also includes general claims of superiority over comparable products that are so vague that it can be understood as nothing more than a mere expression of opinion.
29.3 Ultimately, whether any particular statement or claim is puffery will depend upon the context in which it is used in the advertisement.
34. Claimed Results
Claims relating to performance, energy savings, safety, efficacy or results for a product or service should be based on recent and competent testing or other objective data. 
36. Environmental Benefit Claims
36.1 General Principles
36.1.1 Advertisers should not make broad, unqualified general environmental benefit claims like “green” or “eco-friendly.”
36.1.2 Advertisers must qualify general claims with specific environmental benefits.
36.1.3 Advertisers must possess competent and reliable evidence (often scientific evidence) to support all environmental benefit claims. Qualifications for any claim must be clear, conspicuous and understandable.
36.1.4 When an advertiser qualifies a general claim with a specific benefit, the benefit should be significant. Advertisers must not highlight small or unimportant benefits.
36.1.5 Unless clear from the context, any environmental claim must specify clearly and conspicuously whether the claim applies to the product, the product’s packaging, a service or just to a portion of the product, package or service.

36.2 Degradable
36.2.1 Advertisers may make an unqualified degradable claim if they have competent and reliable scientific evidence that the entire product or package will completely break down and return to nature within a reasonably short period of time after customary disposal. For items entering the solid waste stream, advertisers should substantiate that the items completely decompose within one year after customary disposal.
36.2.2 Advertisers must qualify, clearly and conspicuously, degradable claims to the extent necessary to avoid confusion about the product's or package's ability to degrade in the environment where it is customarily disposed or the rate and extent of degradation.