FoodLegal

As some consumers are willing to pay a price premium for products that are perceived to be more ‘sustainable’ or environmentally-friendly, more businesses are looking to market the ‘green’ credentials of their products. However, Australian regulators are becoming proactive and taking enforcement action to prevent misleading ‘greenwashing’ claims. Greenwashing is a form of over-emphasis or over-statement of environmental or sustainability benefits or credentials. This article explores several recent developments in this area, including (1) Australian Federal Court action against a claim describing the product as ‘ocean plastic’, (2) recent findings by Ad Standards against misleading environmental advertisements, and (3) an ongoing Australian Senate inquiry into greenwashing.

One response by manufacturers and brand marketers to higher labour and production costs has been to decrease product pack size or quantity in order to reduce costs or to obscure visibility of price inflation. This has been criticised and called ‘shrinkflation’ because it signifies less value for each dollar spent. In May 2024, the Australian Federal Senate signalled some changes might be made to the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Unit Pricing) Regulations 2021 (Unit Pricing Code)]. This article explores recent developments in Australia, interesting relevant French regulation and draft proposals elsewhere.

Competition concerns relating to the Australian food and grocery supply chain, have been discussed off and on since the early 1990’s. The latest episode are three separate reviews undertaken respectively by the Australian Department of Treasury, the Australian Federal Senate, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. This article addresses the key outcomes of these reviews, and the potential implications for suppliers, retailers and other stakeholders.