Coca-Cola to revise recycling claims after greenwashing allegations

GLOBAL – Coca-Cola has announced it will make significant changes to its recycling claims following allegations of greenwashing by environmental and consumer advocacy groups.

The company will voluntarily update the wording on its packaging to more accurately reflect the recyclability and recycled content of its plastic bottles.

The move comes after Client Earth and the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) filed complaints in November 2023, accusing Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and Danone of misleading consumers through environmental claims.

Coca-Cola is the first of the three to respond with formal commitments, though it maintains that the changes do not amount to an admission of wrongdoing.

Over the next 18 months, Coca-Cola will phase out the statement “I am a bottle made from 100% recycled plastic”, replacing it with more precise alternatives such as “This bottle, excluding label and cap, is made from 100%/50% recycled plastic” or “I am a bottle, excluding label and cap, made from 100%/50% recycled plastic.”

The company has also pledged to replace the phrase “Recycle me again” with the simpler “Recycle me”, addressing concerns that the original wording falsely implied a closed-loop recycling process.

Coca-Cola further committed to making it clear on packaging that there is no fully closed recycling loop for plastic, acknowledging that bottle caps and labels are not made from recycled materials due to regulatory constraints under EU law.

Agustin Reyna, Director General of BEUC, cautiously welcomed the revisions but warned that the new labels could still mislead consumers.

“It is crystal clear that a 100% recycling rate will never be reached. Affirming that a bottle is 100% recycled or recyclable is outright misleading and should stop, just as green imagery gives the wrong impression that plastic drink bottles have zero impact on the environment,” he said.

Industry data shows that while 75% of PET beverage bottles in the EU were sorted for recycling in 2022, only 30% were recycled into new bottles, raising concerns about the credibility of “100% recyclable” claims.

The European Commission noted that the widespread practice of adding virgin plastic to so-called recycled bottles further complicates such messaging—though Coca-Cola stated this is not the case with its “100% recycled” bottles.

Client Earth senior lawyer Kamila Drzewicka emphasized that misleading environmental claims hinder consumer choices and contravene legal standards.

“In our view, this outcome should be seen as the floor, not the ceiling. Regulators and courts across the EU now have a clear mandate to take action against such practices,” she said.

The European Commission, which announced Coca-Cola’s commitments, confirmed that national consumer protection authorities across the EU will now assess the practices of other bottling giants.

Companies found using similarly misleading claims may soon be required to meet the same standards as Coca-Cola..

Subscribe to our email newsletters that provide busy executives like you with the latest news insights and trends from Africa and the World. SUBSCRIBE HERE