Coco-Cola, Kim Kardashian's SKIMS Called out for 'Greenwashing'

Coca-Cola has disclosed for the first time that it used 3 million tonnes of plastic packaging in a single year

Photo: iStock

.Big brands including Coco Cola, Ikea, and Kim Kardashian's SKIMS are 'greenwashing' by falsely claiming their packaging to be 'eco-friendly', according to a new report released by environmental campaign organisation, the Changing Markets Foundation.

“Our latest investigation exposes a litany of misleading claims from household names consumers should be able to trust," George Harding-Rolls, campaign manager at Changing Markets Foundations, was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg and it is of crucial importance that regulators take this issue seriously."

George Harding-Rolls, campaign manager at Changing Markets Foundations

According to Break Free From Plastic's brand audit, Coca-Cola is the biggest plastic polluter of all. Over the past 30 years, the company has breached a number of promises, including those related to recovery and the introduction of alternative materials.

Although some businesses, like Coca-Cola, have tried to lessen the plastic pollution problem they contribute to, many still think they aren't doing enough with what they have.

Photo: iStock

'Greenwashing': What The Report Found

'Greenwashing' is a term used for marketting tactics that involve deceptive claims to persuade the public that an organization's products are environmentally friendly.

The iconic American brand Coca-Cola and Unilever are said to be misleading consumers by claiming that their plastic packaging is environmentally good, according to the CMF report.

According to Greenwashing, a campaign launched by CMF, Coca-Cola has spent millions advertising an innovation that claims that their bottles contain 25 percent marine plastic, but does not disclose the fact that it is the largest producer of plastic pollution in the world.

Greenpeace UK has, in the past, said that the company generates 3,400 single-use plastic bottles every second, or over 100 billion each year, and that Coca-Cola and the other defendants launched the "Every Bottle Back" effort in response to this customer demand.

"While Coca-Cola has spent years undermining systematic regulation to address plastic, they use distraction tactics like this packaging to make you think they're committed to change."

Greenpeace UK

The report also says that, promises made by Kim Kardashian's apparel brand SKIMS on the package of their compostable underwear, which reads "I am not plastic," are contradicted by the fine print that specifies the item is made of plastic type 4 or LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene).

“The industry is happy to gloat its green credentials with little substance on the one hand, while continuing to perpetuate the plastic crisis on the other. We are calling out greenwashing so the world can see that voluntary action has led to a market saturated with false claims.”

George Harding-Rolls, campaign manager at Changing Markets Foundations

Other companies that have been called out by the report are Procter & Gamble’s Head and Shoulders shampoo, Mentos, Unilever's liquid detergent bottles and pouches, and British supermarket chain Tesco, among others.

(Written with inputs from the Guardian.)