Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether consumer products advertised as containing specific percentages of recycled material may use mass-balance accounting to support those representations rather than measuring the physical recycled content contained in each individual product.
Consumers increasingly encounter products advertised with specific environmental representations such as “50% recycled plastic,” “made with 50% recycled material,” or similar numerical recycled-content claims.
Some manufacturers use a system known as mass balance to calculate these percentages. Under a mass-balance system, recycled feedstock may be introduced into a broader manufacturing stream containing recycled and non-recycled materials. Environmental attributes associated with the recycled feedstock can then be allocated to particular products through an accounting system.
As a result, an advertised recycled-content percentage may not necessarily describe the amount of physically traceable recycled material contained in each individual product.
Migliaccio & Rathod is investigating whether consumers reasonably understand specific numerical recycled-content claims to describe the physical composition of the product they are purchasing, and whether companies adequately disclose when the advertised percentage is instead determined through mass-balance allocation.
This investigation is not based on the premise that mass-balance accounting itself is improper. Rather, it concerns whether a company accurately communicates what its recycled-content representation means when marketing a product to consumers.
Consumers May Have Experienced:
- Purchasing a product advertised as containing a specific percentage of recycled material;
- Believing the stated percentage described the actual physical composition of the product;
- Choosing the product over a competing product because of its recycled-content claim;
- Paying more because of environmental or sustainability representations;
- Seeing a prominent recycled-content percentage with a less-prominent mass-balance qualification; or
- Learning after purchase that the recycled percentage was determined through an allocation or accounting methodology.
Potential Claims May Include:
- False or misleading recycled-content advertising;
- Misleading environmental representations;
- Deceptive trade practices;
- Breach of express warranty;
- Unjust enrichment; and
- Price-premium damages.
Signs You May Be Affected:
- You purchased a product advertised as containing a specific percentage of recycled material;
- The recycled-content percentage influenced your decision to purchase the product;
- You believed the percentage described the physical recycled material in the product;
- You paid more because of the environmental representation;
- You did not understand that mass-balance accounting was used to support the claim; or
- You have the product, packaging, receipt, photographs, or screenshots showing the recycled-content representation.
If you purchased a product because of its recycled-content representations, we would like to hear from you. Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or give us a call.