Court ruling on the “plastic-free” self-declaration on coffee capsules

Good news for flustix! In a ruling, the Higher Regional Court of Munich has prohibited self-declaration using the claim “plastic-free”. Consumers must not be misled by unverified statements! The case: a manufacturer of coffee capsules advertised on pack with “plastic-free” and “without/no plastic” as well as with home compostability. A competitor took legal action and has now obtained a legally binding judgment against its rival, because neither advertising claim had been independently tested and confirmed or certified.

In doing so the supplier gained an unfair competitive advantage, according to the reasoning of the Munich court. The company must now withdraw the goods from sale. With independent certification, companies can set themselves apart from competitors in an honest and reliable way.

flustix offers four independent seals for declaring freedom from plastic. With the flustix RECYCLED seal, flustix certifies the use of recycled plastic. Whether product, contents or packaging – look closely when you shop. Because greenwashing can hide behind unverified slogans. Positive rulings like this create precedents that can curb the misleading of consumers in future. Advertising with self-declarations is being watched ever more closely and pursued through the courts with increasing frequency.