Consumer goods companies are missing the mark with false solutions to the plastic pollution crisis

June 22, 2021 —- Top fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are churning out plastic pollution ‘solution’ projects that do very little to solve the plastic pollution crisis. The Break Free From Plastic global movement has tracked and analysed projects that seven major companies and eight alliances claim are part of their response to plastic pollution. Titled “Missing the Mark: Unveiling Corporate False Solutions to the Plastic Pollution Crisis”, the report categorizes 265 corporate projects to determine how much attention companies are giving proven solutions such as reuse, compared to false solutions. Out of a total of 265 projects running from 2018 to April 2021, only 39 were focused on reuse and a total of 226 projects were designated as false solutions to the plastic pollution crisis as defined by experts from the Break Free From Plastic movement. The report analyzed the initiatives of  Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Mars, Inc., Mondelez International, Nestlé, Unilever and Coca-Cola Company, consistent top polluters in the global brand audits conducted by Break Free From Plastic. 

“The world’s top polluting companies claim to be tackling plastic pollution, but the evidence for how serious they are is in the numbers. These companies are pursuing false solutions that range from potentially damaging at worst, and simple wishful thinking, at best. What the findings reveal is that only 15% of the projects are proven solutions like reuse, refill, and alternative delivery systems. Instead, these companies are investing in projects that do little to eliminate single-use plastics.” said Emma Priestland, Break Free From Plastic Corporate Campaigns Coordinator. 

The report ranked the companies from absolute worst to least worst. It finds that Procter & Gamble is the absolute worst at solving plastic pollution, and Unilever the least worst, but still performing poorly. 

Greenpeace USA Global Project Leader Graham Forbes said: 

“This report offers yet another example of big brands failing to prioritize reuse and the reduction of throwaway packaging. It is clear that reuse-based alternatives are essential for these companies to remain viable in a climate-safe future and end their contributions to the plastic pollution crisis. Instead of working with the fossil fuel industry to promote false solutions, these companies must end their reliance on single-use plastics and scale-up systems of reuse globally.”

Yuyun Ismawati of Nexus3 Foundation in Indonesia and  a member of the expert panel which analyzed the corporations’ initiatives, said:

“In Asia, we’ve been seeing a lot of these false solutions that these companies and their alliances are peddling. Chemical recycling creates new toxic waste; plastic to fuel or Refuse Derived Fuel is contrary to the circular economy, and plastic offsetting is upsetting because it fails to answer the plastic crisis. These types of initiatives show a lack of ambition and prioritization of alternative product delivery methods. Multinational corporations have more than enough resources to invest in new delivery systems, reuse, refill and redesign, that would allow for a dramatic reduction in the use of single-use plastics. They should change the way of doing business and stop greenwashing.” #ends 

 

Below are the categories of false solutions as used in the report:

Un proven-at-Scale Technology

Technologies that are technically feasible or are operational on a small scale, but have yet to be proven at scale. Often unknown environmental impacts.

Third Party Collect/Dispose

When a company pays another entity to collect a certain amount of waste from the environment and dispose or recycle it. The disposal method is often burning.

False Narrative

When public claims are made or implied by the company messaging around a project that is problematic, such as ‘beach clean ups are a solution’.

Announced-then-Nothing

No information on a project other than the initial press release announcement can be found or projects that were launched but quickly failed.

 We all know about these things don´t we!

As usual, it´s up to us to watch out for these little tricks that they keep pulling.  Keep buying products in glass or cans, anything is better than plastic.

I am still making my own soaps, shampoos, shower gels and all those things, along with cleaning products, we have not bought any of these things now for nearly 10 months! 

Keep up the good work everyone!

The blog song for today is: "Goody Two Shoes" by Adam and the Ants

TTFN