Tetra Pak forced to stop deceptive advertising
The German Association for Consumer Protection, Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), has filed a complaint of false advertising against Swedish Tetra Pak. DUH’s initial request to modify their advertising was ignored by Tetra Pak, leading to the action in the Wiesbaden Regional Court. DUH intends to halt Tetra Pak’s marketing efforts until the case is heard.
The complaint centres on Tetra Pak’s claim that it was among the most environmentally friendly beverage packaging materials and that it is 100% recyclable. However, DUH’s research showed that only about one-third of cartons sold in Germany are actually recycled. “Tetra Pak makes its products sound greener than they are,” says Dr Remo Klinger, a lawyer who will represent DUH in the dispute. “Such greenwashing is unfair and will not be tolerated by the courts.”
Figures from the European Association of Producers of Steel for Packaging (APEAL) would appear to back-up the DUH numbers. For 2009, the latest year for which statistics are available, APEAL reported that the recycling rate for beverage cartons was just 34% in Europe. According to the same figures, 67% of glass was recycled.
“Theoretically, almost everything is recyclable. But the practice is quite different as can be seen clearly in the case of beverage packaging. Tetra Pak’s statement that its packaging is completely recycled is simply wrong,” explained Maria Elander, Head of Economic Services at DUH.
Unlike Tetra Pak, which is down-cycled to produce cardboard and cartons, glass can be recycled over and over again without loss of properties. It’s only natural that glass is the clear choice for packaging!
Tags: advertising, glass packaging, recycling, Tetra Pak
November 11th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
It appears that 2 related but different facts are mixed up here. Tetra Pak saying its cartons are 100% recyclable and the fact that in Europe only 34% cartons are actually recycled are 2 different things. It will be interesting to see what was the percentage of cartons recycled say 3 or 5 years ago. Was it also about 34% then, or a much lesser percentage? If lesser, then it clearly means that cartons recycling is on the increase and presumably a larger percentage will be recycled in the future.
As far as glass being recycled at 67% is concerned, first, what is the relative cost of collecting, transporting for recycling and actually recycling the glass compared to cartons? This is an important comparison to make. And second, saying that glass is a better material for packaging simply because it can be recycled time and again is a hugely naive statement to make. Does one choose a particular packaging material based on its recyclability, or on its utility for the purpose of packaging a specific material? While milk will stay fresh in a Tetra Pak carton for months simply because the aseptic processing and packaging technology guarantees no ingress of moisture or UV light, milk in a glass bottle will go bad in a matter of few days because sunlight will cause fast deterioration.
November 27th, 2011 at 7:22 pm
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