Clorox Fined $5.19 Million in Australia for Misleading ‘Ocean Plastic’ Claims 

Clorox Australia has been fined A$8.25 million ($5.19 million USD) after misleading consumers regarding the environmental claims of its GLAD rubbish and kitchen bags. For over two years, the company asserted that its bags were produced from a minimum of 50% recycled ocean plastic, a claim that proved to be untrue.

An inquiry by the ACCC found that more than 2.2 million of the bags were made up of plastic materials gathered from sources on land around Indonesian villages. These villages had no official rubbish collection system and the trash had been rounded up as much as 50 kilometers inland, beyond any coastline or ocean. The ACCC argued that misleading green advertising in respect of those products would negatively impact consumer trust and violate the notion of fairness in competition.

Ultimately the court found that Clorox had acted in a manner that breached Australian Consumer Law by advertising those products through misleading environmental representations from June 2021 to July 2023. In today’s marketplace where purchasing decisions are strongly driven by sustainability such misleading statements jeopardize not only consumer confidence but also fair competition.

Along with the cash penalty, Clorox has to introduce a compliance program, produce a public correction on its website and pay half of the ACCC’s legal fees. Manufacture of the incorrectly labelled products ceased in July 2023 just after the regulator started its investigation.

The case illustrates growing scrutiny of greenwashing when businesses exaggerate environmental claims. Regulators are now making it clear that environmental integrity is not optional.