Previously we told you about an effort by several state attorneys general, led by Florida’s James Uthmeier (pictured above), to investigate environmental advocacy coalitions focused on the reduction of plastics in companies’ packaging, over alleged anticompetitive collusion under consumer protection laws. In February the AGs escalated their saber-rattling by sending warning letters to the companies that are members of those plastics associations, “notifying them that continued participation in or coordination with the initiatives may expose them to antitrust liability.”
Now the pressure has been turned up another notch, with those states’ top law enforcement officers issuing civil investigative demands to the coalition groups and several companies:
“Environmental groups are pressuring corporations to abandon free market principles and raise prices on consumers for products they don’t want, and many corporations continue their associations with these groups,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “Our office provided them with a sufficient opportunity to respond to our inquiries regarding potential violations of the law. Time’s up.”
Unilever, Coca-Cola, Target, Nestle, Mondelez International Holdings LLC, the U.S. Plastics Pact, the Consumer Goods Forum, and the Green Blue Institute all received [Civil Investigative Demands]. The CIDs are investigating suspicions that the corporations may have engaged in collusive partnerships through and with the environmental groups that, among other things, restricted trade, increased prices for consumers, and diminished free market competition.
NLPC has sought to hold some of these same companies accountable regarding their plastics policies through the shareholder proposal process. Two of the targets of the attorneys general — Coca-Cola and snack company Mondelez — will face such proposals from NLPC in the coming weeks at their annual shareholder meetings (the soft drink maker’s meeting is next week).
Read more about NLPC’s requests for companies to revisit their plastics packaging policies in light of genuine scientific, logistical and economic analyses, in our reports we circulated to shareholders — you can read our Coca-Cola report here, and our Mondelez report here.
