Two coffee companies have had adverts banned for making the “misleading” suggestion that their coffee pods and bags could be composted at home.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ad for Lavazza’s Eco Caps coffee pods, which stated that customers could achieve a “coffee shop taste in compostable capsules for your home”, gave the misleading impression that the pods could be composted at home, when in fact they could only be composted in an industrial setting.
Similarly, the ad for “Dualit’s compostable coffee bags” implied that the pouches could be composted domestically when this was not the case.
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The ASA said the products had been certified to the European Standard EN13432, meaning they were designed to break down within an industrial compost and would not necessarily break down within a domestic compost.
If the product did break down in a domestic compost, it has the potential to leave toxic matter, while compostable plastics placed into recycling collections could contaminate them, the ASA added.
Responding to the ASA, Lavazza said consumers would understand the word “compostable” means that a product was made of compostable material, and not necessarily that it was able to be used in compost systems at home.
The coffee giant said it was not its intention for consumers to understand the ad as suggesting the capsules were home compostable, adding that its website stated that they were certified for industrial composting.
Dualit said similar, adding its coffee bags had been certified as industrially compostable and were made from polylactic acid, a material derived from sugars extracted from plants and ground coffee.
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Despite disagreeing with the ASA’s decision, Lavazza said it amended its advert and took it offline around 10 months ago.
The ASA said: “We know that when it comes to making purchasing decisions, the public are keen to make choices with the environment in mind.
“It’s important that brands are clear about how easy it is to dispose of products in an environmentally friendly way, so people aren’t misled.”
