The Federal Court has imposed a $8.25 million fine on Clorox Australia Pty Ltd (Clorox) for making false or misleading representations around certain GLAD kitchen and garbage bags.
The packaging of its GLAD to be GREEN “50% Ocean Plastic Recycled” Kitchen Tidy Bags and Garbage Bags products claimed that the products were made of at least 50% recycled plastic waste collected from the ocean or sea. This was found to be incorrect – rather, the products were made from about 50% plastic waste which had been collected from communities in Indonesia with no formal waste management systems, situated up to 50 kilometres from a shoreline, and otherwise from non-recycled plastic, processing aid and dye.
More than 2.2 million products were supplied in this packaging between June 2021 and July 2023.
ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said Clorox gave insufficient consideration to what ‘ocean plastic’ meant to an ordinary consumer, particularly in light of the blue colour and wave imaging on the packaging.
“Claims about environmental benefits matter to many consumers and may impact their purchasing behaviour. When those claims are false or misleading, this is a serious breach of trust, as well as the Australian Consumer Law,” she said.
“This is also a significant matter because consumers have limited or no ability to independently verify the accuracy of the claims made on packaging and it also disadvantages competitors who are accurately communicating their environmental credentials.”
Nic Seton, CEO of leading Australian climate organisation Parents for Climate said the fine imposed on Clorox underscores the urgent need for stronger oversight and regulation of greenwashing in Australia.
“The situation highlights how false sustainability claims not only mislead consumers but also erode trust in businesses and climate action more broadly,” he said.
A national survey by Parents for Climate found that 5.2 million Australian parents have been misled by environmental claims from household service providers. The survey found:
- 90% of parents believe greenwashing is getting worse
- 97% report feeling misled or lied to by companies’ sustainability marketing
- 59% of parents have already cancelled or changed providers due to greenwashing
- Parents want to make ethical choices for their families but are being let down by misleading claims
In December 2023, the ACCC released its guidance on making environmental claims for businesses, which explains business’ obligations under the Australian Consumer Law when they make environmental and sustainability claims. It also sets out what the ACCC considers to be misleading conduct and good practice when making such claims, to help businesses provide clear, accurate and trustworthy information to consumers about the environmental performance of their business.