Food-service products manufacturer Dispoz-O Products Inc. has amended its environmental claims after a complaint by competitor Solo Cup Co.
The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (NAD) recommended that Dispoz-O discontinue statements that its Enviroware degrades in months when buried or discarded in a landfill.
NAD also discouraged use of the statement that Enviroware cutlery, straws, containers, plates, bowls and trays are 100 percent biodegradable and come with a certificate of biodegradability.
In a recent news release, NAD did not take issue with several other Dispoz-O statements indicating biodegradabililty.
“We're very pleased with the decision,” said Jeff Swiger, Dispoz-O's environmental products director, in a telephone interview from the firm's head office in Fountain Inn., S.C.
“They pretty much say there is sufficient evidence to make environmental claims.”
Dispoz-O agreed to:
* Qualify the time frame of Enviroware's biodegradation after it enters the waste stream.
* Remove the word “landfills” and replace it with “customary disposal,” because landfills can vary in conditions and temperature.
* State “biodegradable” rather than “100 percent biodegradable,” since testing to date has not been conducted to complete degradation.
In a statement, Solo Cup of Highland Park, Ill., said it welcomed the NAD recommendations.
“We are grateful for the NAD's role in ensuring that consumers receive accurate and complete information about the products they are using and any claims made by those products,” the statement read.
“Since the area of sustainability continues to grow in prominence, it is crucial to have a body like the NAD to ensure marketing claims can be substantiated.”