Dualit and Lavazza have both fallen foul of advertising standards by describing coffee products as “compostable”, when they are not suitable for home compost.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints about search ads for Dualit’s coffee bags and Lavazza Eco Caps coffee pods this week.
‘Misleading’ ads
Both paid-for ads, which appeared online last summer, described the products as compostable when they could only be processed through industrial facilities. Dualit’s bags were touted as “compostable coffee bags”, while Lavazza said its Eco Caps offered “the coffee shop taste in compostable capsules for your home”.
The wording indicated the products were made of compostable material, and not necessarily that they were suitable for domestic compost, the brands argued.
However, the ASA ruled both ads were misleading to consumers. “We considered consumers would understand the claim… in the context of a consumer product for use in the home,” it argued.
“The claim was, therefore, likely to need qualification – for example, by making clear where and how the product should be disposed of,” it added.
The ASA banned the ads from appearing in their original form as part of “a wider piece of work on ads making compostable claims”.
Lavazza said it disagreed “compostable” would be interpreted as home compostable. “We are a bit surprised that there is so much activity from ASA regarding a single paid-ad search on Google that was used more than 10 months ago,” the brand told The Grocer.
“Nevertheless, transparency and building a trustful relationship with consumers are fundamental principles for Lavazza, so we immediately amended the advertisement in good faith upon the ASA’s notification in June 2024 and it has now been offline for nearly 10 months. We don’t expect that this ruling will have any additional implication for us.”
The Grocer contacted Dualit for comment.
Lack of guidance
Home compostable pod brand Halo Coffee argued consumers needed “clear information about what they are buying, especially when it comes to compostable products”.
“They shouldn’t have to read the fine print to discover a product is not as sustainable as it seems,” said a spokesperson for the brand.
“If a product can only break down in an industrial facility, but those facilities are not widely accessible, then it’s misleading to market it as compostable without that context.”
The sustainability of compostable packaging has been an ongoing source of controversy. In 2022, Abel & Cole ditched compostable plastics on the basis that the materials only break down “under very specific conditions”.
Wrap also warned of communication issues around compostable claims in 2020. The not-for-profit pointed out there was “no established system of guidance in the UK for the communication of claims related to the compostability or biodegradability of plastics”.
“Labelling exists only in the form of the certifications for compostability and these labels are unlikely to be understood by the majority of citizens,” Wrap said. “These provide no information about disposal, do not account for waste collection variations at a local level, and there is no explanation as to where citizens can find further information.”
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