Activists who have sought to ban or tax plastic bags—and those who seek to profit off of them—have based their arguments on inaccurate data and misleading statements. Repeated over time, many of these points have mistakenly been taken for fact. Unfortunately, this misinformation has led municipalities to consider or pass misguided laws that are anti-fact and anti-science.
ChicoBag, a maker of reusable bags, was knowingly using falsified promotional materials to advance its profits. In fact, ChicoBag's willingness to disseminate deceptive information went so far as sharing falsified NOAA documents with schoolchildren. Because ChicoBag carried this deception in ideas into schools and the commercial marketplace, Hilex Poly pursued a civil action against them.
With the recent settlement regarding ChicoBag's falsified documents and misleading commercial advertising, the extreme ideology of ban and tax proponents and the misinformation they've spread has been exposed. Untrue marketing claims—including falsified government documents and websites—have been discredited, and the foundational basis for bans and taxes has been exposed as a fraud.
Learn more about the ChicoBag case below, and how the settlement is a victory for consumers.
Hilex Poly was victorious with the settlement and received an undisclosed monetary payment to cover the harm and damages caused by ChicoBag's false and misleading statements.
Hilex Poly pursued a civil action against ChicoBag, an importer of reusable bags that was knowingly using falsified promotional materials to advance its profits. ChicoBag agreed to settle and in the settlement agreed that Hilex Poly should receive an undisclosed monetary payment for damages. The settlement was only about false marketing claims made by ChicoBag. There were no counter claims against Hilex Poly to settle.
Although appropriate to collect damages, Hilex Poly's suit was filed not for money but to correct false and misleading advertising. As such, Hilex Poly will put forth a significant portion of the settlement dollars towards charitable organizations.
ChicoBag knowingly falsified government websites and reports, and then used that false information to advance its profits and confuse the plastic bag debate.
Hilex Poly believes everyone is entitled to their own opinions on grocery bags—but not their own facts. The issues at hand are serious: among other dishonest practices, ChicoBag created a counterfeit EPA website and knowingly shared falsified NOAA documents with school children.
As part of the settlement, ChicoBag admitted to having engaged in sharing false and misleading documents about the environmental impacts of plastic bags for their own advancement in the marketplace. Under the settlement's terms, ChicoBag is prohibited from further use of these pieces of misleading information and mistruths.
ChicoBag is required to remove false data from its promotional information and tell consumers that reusable bags must be washed.
Among the untrue statements ChicoBag can no longer cite, one mentioned the environmental impact of plastic versus reusable bags. Contrary to ChicoBag's previous assertions, the UK Environmental Agency's published research shows it would take 7.5 years of using the same cloth bag (393 uses, assuming one grocery trip per week) to make it a better option than a plastic bag reused three times.1
Additionally, ChicoBag must now post on their website that reusable bags should be washed. A recent peer-reviewed study goes so far as to say unless they are hand or machine washed after each use that harmful bacteria like E. coli, salmonella and fecal coliform thrive in reusable bags.2
Although three companies initially filed the lawsuit, all parties agreed that Hilex should take the lead to simplify proceedings.
In the spring of 2011, America's three biggest plastic bag manufacturers—Hilex Poly, Advance Polybag, Inc., and Superbag Operating, Ltd. —jointly filed a suit to prevent ChicoBag from using misleading and deceptive information in its marketing of reusable bags. With Advance Polybag and Superbag's encouragement and to simplify the proceeding, Hilex Poly took the lead in settling the lawsuit through a mutual agreement reached with ChicoBag.
This lawsuit is a victory for consumers.
ChicoBag's dishonest statements have now been taken out of the marketplace. In this debate, all parties are entitled to their own opinions on grocery bags, but not their own facts. Hilex Poly welcomes an honest and vigorous debate on this issue, but it must be grounded in facts.
The facts are simple: banning or taxing plastic bags doesn't reduce litter in our landfills or improve the environment. Plastic bags are less than a fraction of one percent of the litter stream,3 and singling them out doesn't improve litter rates or even address other plastics that we use. Meanwhile, the alternatives —reusable, cloth and paper bags—are no better for the environment and in many cases are worse.4 It's time to shape policies that will actually reduce litter—not just make people feel better while forcing less sustainable alternatives.