Nestlé Poland sued for greenwashing  

On Nałęczowianka bottles and multipacks, Nestlé Poland uses slogans such as: “I am 100% made of recycled PET plastic* (*not applicable to the cap and the label),” “I am made from another bottle,” and “I am recyclable.” According to ClientEarth, such slogans create a false impression that single-use plastic will not harm the environment. 

ClientEarth is demanding that Nestlé Poland stop using these slogans, emphasising that such practices breach consumer protection law. ClientEarth and Nestlé held negotiations before filing the lawsuit, but they did not reach an agreement. Therefore, on September 17, 2025, the lawsuit against Nestlé Poland was filed with the Regional Court in Warsaw. 

 
The global plastic problem 

Plastic is one of today’s greatest environmental threats. Globally, 460 million tons of plastic are produced each year, about two-thirds of which are single-use, yet only a fraction is recycled.  

Globally, just 9% of plastic is estimated to be recycled.  In Poland, according to the data provided by Institute of Environmental Protection, only 40.7% of plastic waste that was disposed for recycling was in fact recycled. The rest is incinerated, landfilled, or leaked into the environment – polluting rivers, oceans, and forests, while threatening wildlife and human health. 

Every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic is dumped into the world's oceans, rivers, and lakes. Plastic production has doubled since 2000 and it is expected to triple by 2060 if no significant measures are taken, according to the OECD. Last month, global talks to develop a landmark treaty to end plastic pollution collapsed for the sixth time in under three years, with major oil-producing countries pushing for recycling rather than action on plastic production.  

"Sorting waste and recycling are worthwhile elements in the fight against the plastic crisis, but we cannot pretend that this will ever be enough. Plastic is not a material that can be recycled over and over in a loop, so it quickly ends up in landfills or incinerators. The overproduction of single-use packaging is far outpacing recycling systems around the world. The real solution is to significantly reduce the production and use of unnecessary plastic and to urgently implement reusable solutions" - emphasizes Kamila Drzewicka, senior lawyer at ClientEarth. 

Consumers misled by recycling claims, survey reveals 

A 2024 Ipsos survey commissioned by ClientEarth has revealed the problem with recycling marketing.  It shows a troubling gap between consumer perceptions and the environmental reality of plastic packaging.  

Over 70% of respondents in 4 surveyed countries rightly view plastic packaging as harmful to the environment. However, when plastic products feature "fully recyclable" or "contains recycled plastic" labels, the majority of consumers perceive them instead as environmentally positive.  

Yet, evidence shows this perception is wrong. Recycling cannot make plastic environmentally neutral, let alone positive. There is no such thing as truly circular plastic. The process continuously degrades the properties of plastic, making ‘infinite’ recycling impossible. This means that recycling can only ever delay plastic pollution, not stop it. 

Recycling is preferable to other waste disposal methods such as incineration or landfill, but companies shouldn’t portray plastic packaging as neutral for the environment.  

An overwhelming 80% of respondents in Poland and Germany believe products with recycling logos will be recycled if properly disposed of. But the ‘recyclability’ of a plastic water bottle is determined by local infrastructure when it enters the recycling system, not just the bottle itself. In the EU, the recycling rate for plastic bottles is approximately 50%, with only around 30% used to make new bottles. This means that most bottles will not become other bottles. 

The study, conducted across France, Germany, Great Britain and Poland highlights how recycling claims on plastic packaging mislead consumers into thinking plastic products are environmentally friendly. 

The global fight against plastics greenwashing 

ClientEarth consistently works to eliminate the most harmful types of greenwashing, i.e., marketing strategies that mislead consumers into believing that the most polluting products are environmentally friendly, and the legal challenges have piled up against the plastic industry in recent years 

In 2023, ClientEarth supported Europe’s consumer protection organization, BEUC, in filing a legal complaint against food and drink giants Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Danone for the use of misleading ‘100%’ recycled’ and ‘100% recyclable’ claims on plastic water bottles sold across Europe. The European Commission has since announced it had reached an agreement with Coca-Cola to remove misleading recycling claims from its plastic bottles. 

Last year, California's Attorney-General has sued ExxonMobil over its “decades-long campaign of deception” about the effectiveness of plastics recycling. ExxonMobil is the world’s largest producer of resins used for single-use plastics. Elsewhere, Coca-cola was also named in a criminal complaint in France for misleading commercial practices and greenwashing during the 2024 Paris Olympics.  

All survey results can be found here. The survey was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of ClientEarth using the CAWI method. Fieldwork was carried out between November 20 and November 25, 2024. The study targeted individuals aged 18-65, with a nationally representative samples in Poland, Great Britain, France and Germany (PL n=502, GB n=501, FR n=501, GER n=505). 

Single-use plastics: Broadly speaking, single-use is a term which can refer to any plastic items which are either designed to be used for one time by the consumer before they are thrown away or recycled, or likely to be used in this way.