The debate about the disposable bottle continues: Because Lidl accuses the German environmental aid of false claims, the association wants to defend itself legally.
The dispute between Lidl and Deutsche Umwelthilfe eV (DUH) is entering a new round: Because Lidl accuses the DUH and other organizations of “false claims”, the association is now taking legal action against the retailer, as reported by the “Lebensmittel Zeitung”. A statement from the DUH also states that Lidl will be asked to submit a cease-and-desist declaration with a penalty.
Lidl rejects allegations
In addition, the DUH stated again that Lidl was advertising its disposable plastic bottles in order to “dissuade the federal government from tightening the legal requirements against disposable packaging in the drinks sector and for better reusable protection”. The association therefore does not want to accept the accusation of “renewed false claims”.
In the meantime, the discounter reacted to the new statements by the DUH with its own press release. Lidl explains that the environmental association’s legal action only relates to the press release of May 3rd, the release in which Lidl accuses the association of making false claims.
According to Lidl, the legal step would not relate to the content of the information campaign on the so-called recirculation bottle. The grocer, on the other hand, accuses the association of wanting to “regain opinion leadership in the discussion about ecological beverage packaging”.
New level of debate
In contrast, the national manager of the DUH, Barbara Metz, feels confirmed by the reaction of the discounter. “Lidl’s reaction to our fact check is becoming increasingly thin-skinned. We even see our criticism of Lidl’s disposable plastic bottles as confirmed by the publications presented by the discounter,” quoted the Metz association.
The current advertising campaign for Lidl’s disposable bottles has drawn criticism from several environmental organizations in recent weeks. Lidl advertises its used plastic bottles as so-called recycling bottles.
According to the food retailer, these are the more ecological bottles compared to the usual reusable bottles. Shortly after the start of the advertising campaign, the DUH criticized the results presented by Lidl and accused the retailer of concealing “adverse ecological balance sheets”.
According to the association, the group is said to have used outdated average values in comparison with returnable bottles, which distorted the result. According to the DUH, Lidl “did not compare itself to the top performers in the reusable sector”.
In a press release from the end of April, the DUH stated that there was no “closed and self-sustaining 100 percent recycling cycle” for single-use plastic bottles.