Consumer watchdog urged to step in on so-called ocean plastic

Tait founded the Tangaroa Blue Foundation, which works to prevent, remove and track marine debris in Australia. She recently told a government inquiry consumers are being taken for a ride, taking aim at a growing class of products that say they’re made from 50 to 100 per cent ocean or ocean-bound plastic.

“We’re allowing frameworks that have [overseas] waste pickers that might go and pick up rubbish 50 kilometres from the coast that may never have entered into the ocean,” she told the inquiry.

“We are importing that waste as a feedstock to be manufactured into [new] products and then we are claiming that somehow we’ve cleaned up the ocean and it’s going to have a benefit to our marine environment and to our wildlife.

“Those things are all extremely misleading.”

Glad does not assert that it is cleaning up the ocean. Its language is focused on how “recycling ocean-bound plastic reduces plastic pollution before it enters the ocean” and how that helps makes the seas safer for marine life.

Parent firm The Clorox Company said Glad sought to offer consumers a selection of bag products that help reduce environmental impact.

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“Glad takes seriously our obligations under the law and industry codes of practice to package and market our products with claims that are truthful and substantiated,” it said.

But Tait isn’t convinced that when consumers see headline descriptions such as ocean plastic and ocean-bound plastic – in the middle of their weekly shop – they’ll understand what they’re buying.

California company Oceanworks is Glad’s partner on its ocean plastic recycled bags and describes itself as “a powerful responsible plastic sourcing engine that brings traceability and digitisation to the recycled plastic trade”.

Oceanworks provides the recycled plastic feedstock Glad uses in its bin liners, and says the material is harvested from the land in places that lack efficient waste management systems. One of the reasons for that is plastic waste that’s been in the ocean is “hard to collect at scale” and is difficult and costly to use in manufacturing because it is typically degraded.

“We are by no means saying that every piece of plastic that is ocean-bound would have ended up in the ocean,” Oceanworks co-founder and chief executive Vanessa Coleman said.

“But it’s at very high risk of ending up there.

“To solve ocean plastic pollution, as a problem, you need to get the plastic out of the ocean that’s already in there. But you absolutely also have to stop new plastic from going in.”

Coleman says there are issues around transparency in an emerging sector, including the absence of a regulatory framework.

“We have really emphasised transparency and trying to be clear about what is what. Because that is needed to get brands to do something,” she said. “So they know if they are trying to improve their supply chains, and make them more sustainable, it’s not going to backfire.”

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There’s no doubt the risks are high, with consumer confidence hanging in the balance, alongside risks of reputational damage for brands.

About two years ago, Australian-born hairdresser Kevin Murphy was forced to issue a public apology over claims the packaging for his hair care products was “100% Ocean Waste Plastic”.

Ocean Waste Plastic is a brand owned by Pack Tech, a Danish packaging company.

Murphy, in a video shared on YouTube, said he had been humbled and promised to do better after the company’s supplier said it “cannot guarantee that our current packaging that has 100 per cent OWP on the label is in fact accurate”.

Late last year, Bunnings withdrew a plastic storage bin that proclaimed: “I’m made from ocean-bound plastic.”

“While we were satisfied the product contained recycled material, we weren’t satisfied with our supplier’s claim it was ocean-bound,” the retailer said.

Tait believes there’s a clear need for Australia to develop government-approved definitions for ocean and ocean-bound plastic, so consumers can easily understand what they are getting.

While the government inquiry mulls that over, Tangaroa Blue and lawyers from the Environmental Defenders Office have urged the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to look carefully at products that are already in the marketplace.

The watchdog – which is halfway through a general crackdown on all types of greenwashing – has responded with a warning for all brands to tread carefully.

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“Businesses should take care when making claims about using ‘ocean plastic’ or ‘ocean-bound plastic’ in their products. As there is no standard definition for these terms, this may leave consumers with a false impression,” a commission spokeswoman said.

“In the next couple of months, the ACCC will be releasing revised guidance for businesses about the steps they can take to ensure their environmental claims have integrity and are helpful for consumers.”

Last month, the watchdog flagged a number of investigations after an internet sweep found more than half of 247 businesses reviewed had made concerning claims about their environmental or sustainability practices.

It has not named any of the companies.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by any of the brands mentioned in this article. Kevin Murphy and Pack Tech have been contacted for comment.

AAP