Beauty brands exposed for ‘misleading and mendacious’ packaging claims

L'Oreal, L'Occitane, Unilever and P&G are among a variety of companies accused of greenwashing, according to findings from the Changing Markets Foundation. 

The foundation has revealed a number of companies responsible for "misleading and mendacious" claims via a virtual launderette on its website, greenwash.com.

Common claims involve the use of ocean-bound and recyclable plastic, which stem from a range of product examples, initiatives and global adverts by retailers and producers which are said to obscure the real impact of plastic from consumers.

Procter & Gamble’s Head and Shoulders is under fire for its beach plastic bottle, which the foundation said does little to reduce plastic pollution and cannot be recycled further if the bottle is dyed blue.

P&G's reusable and refillable aluminium bottle system for brands Head & Shoulder, Pantene, Herbal Essences and Aussie in Europe is also mentioned, highlighting that each refillable bottle requires a single refilling pouch, which are not widely recycled.

Similarly, L'Occitane's Eco-recharge refill range has been labelled "a lazy solution which does not avoid unnecessary plastic and should not count as a refill", as the brand is replacing its bottles with non-recyclable pouches that only cover a small number of refills before needing to be replaced themselves.

Unilever has replaced its recyclable PET bottles of washing liquid with pouches as part of its eco refill push. However, unlike PET bottles, the pouches have been found to be non-recyclable and only contain two refills.

L'Oreal's Elvive bottle has been called out over claims that is made from 100% recycled plastic, but the small print highlights this is only the bottle and not the cap.

The Competitions and Markets Authorityis is currently running enforcement on its green claims guidance, while the European Commission is also working on the legislative proposal to justify green claims due later this year.

George Harding-Rolls, Campaign Manager at Changing Markets Foundations, said: “Our latest investigation exposes a litany of misleading and mendacious claims from household names consumers should be able to trust. This is just the tip of the iceberg and it is of crucial importance that regulators take this issue seriously. We are calling out greenwashing so the world can see that voluntary action has led to a market saturated with false claims. We must embrace systemic solutions, such as absolute reductions in plastic packaging and mandatory deposit return systems.”