ESG Enforcement Tracker

Key facts:

The ACCC was investigating claims made by MOO, a manufacturer and supplier of yoghurt products sold to consumers, that its yoghurt packaging was made from “100% ocean plastic”.

In the ACCC’s view, this statement gave the impression that the packaging was made from plastic waste collected directly from the ocean, when, in reality, the packaging was made from what MOO described as “reclaimed ocean bound plastic”. This was abandoned plastic waste collected within 50km off the shoreline in regions where waste management either did not exist or was inefficient. The ACCC noted that this representation was misleading and amounted to contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law.

MOO co-operated with the ACCC’s enquiries and, in November 2023, entered into a three-year, court-enforceable undertaking with the ACCC, under section 87B of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. For a period of three years, MOO had undertaken to:

1. update the packaging design of its yoghurt products to remove reference to the fact that the yoghurt packaging was made from “100% ocean plastic” and to conduct a comprehensive review of its website and social media platforms to ensure all such claims are removed;
2. conduct internal audits relating to the nature and location of the “ocean bound plastic” resin used in MOO’s yoghurt product packaging; and
3. establish and implement a compliance programme.

MOO also agreed that, within seven days of entering into the undertaking, it would publish a corrective notice on its website and social media platforms which would remain in place for a period of 60 consecutive days.