Food producer Unilever is using misleading sustainability claims on a large scale, according to the Consumers’ Association. More than half of the products of brands such as Calvé and Knorr are said to have inaccurate claims.
Misleading sustainability claims are made on 247 of the 450 Unilever products examined. Container terms such as ‘sustainable’ are used in several places, for example in descriptions such as ‘sustainably grown’. According to the consumer organisation, this is misleading because it is too general.
“Manufacturers may only use this type of claim if a product demonstrably has no negative impact whatsoever,” writes the Consumers’ Association. “That is virtually unachievable.”
Only the brands Hertog IJs, Ben & Jerry’s and De Vegetarische Slager would be free of greenwashing. Products of the brands Calvé, Knorr, Lipton, Ola, Unox and Hellmann’s “do contain many vague sustainability claims”.
Also, 118 Unilever products are said to feature a self-invented logo with sustainability claims, in order to give the products a reliable appearance.
Calvé also has to adjust peanut butter jars
The Consumers’ Association complains that Unilever is taking too long to make adjustments. In September last year, the Advertising Code Committee ordered Unilever not to “advertise in such a way” with Calvé Pindakaas. It concerns a label stating: “We use sustainably grown peanuts.”
But, the Consumers’ Association now writes, “Unilever is then taking almost a year to adapt the packaging”.
Unilever writes in a response that the sustainability claims are based on its own sustainability standards and internationally recognised certification schemes from independent parties. The company does recognise the importance of comprehensible and transparent communication and indicates that it is working on a “thorough revision of the sustainability expressions on our packaging, websites and other communication channels”.