FTC Warns Plastic Bag Manufacturers About Making False Claims

On October 2014, the Federal Trade Commission warned 15 companies to provide scientific backing for claims they were making concerning certain biodegradable plastic bag products. This mirrors similar action taken by the FTC on October 2013 when the regulator took action against six plastic bag manufacturers for making false marketing claims, even imposing a civil penalty of $450,000 in one case.

Both actions are part of the regulator's efforts to enforce a raft of environmental marketing regulations that the body issued in 2010, explains Anna Pleshakova of Consumer's Research. The FTC updated these regulations in 2012. The six companies penalized in 2013 were AJM Packaging Corporation, Carnie Cap Inc., CHAMP, Clear Choice Housewares Inc., American Plastic Manufacturing and ECM Biofilms Inc. Additionally, AJM Packaging Corporation was fined $450,000. The companies were prohibited from disseminating claims on the biodegradability of their products until they could produce incontrovertible scientific proof.

The warnings issued by the FTC on 2014 concern the use of the term "oxodegradable" by certain plastic bag manufacturers. According to Greg Harman of The Guardian, the term is used to market standard plastic packaging products laced with specialized metal-based additives designed to break down the bags when they are exposed to oxygen. Unfortunately, because plastic bags are typically disposed in landfills with very low oxygen levels, this mechanism is unlikely to work, making the claim of biodegradability moot. This is the source of the FTC's concern.

In an interview with Harman, Joseph Greene, a professor at the department of mechanical and mechatronic engineering and sustainable manufacturing at California State University, Chico insisted that the offending plastic bag manufacturers use the term "oxo-fragmentable" in place of "oxodegradable." This is because the plastic bags in question do not break down into simpler components, which is what "biodegradable" implies. Instead, the bags break down into small pieces that are as toxic as their more complete brethren. The size of these pieces does not reduce their ability to damage the enforcement and can be particularly harmful in marine environments, warns Greene.

The unsubstantiated claims may give the impression that biodegradable plastics do not exist. A variety of biodegradable plastics suited for use in sustainable packaging are available. For instance, scientists at Imperial College London have developed environmentally friendly plastics that absorb water and degrade quickly.

Despite the hiccups and false marketing claims, the sustainable packaging industry is growing at 4 percent per year and is estimated to be worth $27 billion as of November 2014, explains L.E.K. Consultants in a report titled Green is Good: The Revolution in Sustainable Packaging. According to the report, the growth of the sustainable packaging industry is being driven by growing consumer interest in green products, competition, innovation and regulation.

The plastics additives market, which was worth slightly more than $41 billion in 2013, is estimated to grow to about $57 billion by 2020, according to the trade publication Environmental Leader. Such numbers draw plastic bag manufacturers to the burgeoning industry by the dozen. With the FTC's policing, the future of the sustainable packaging industry looks bright.

Photo courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net