Deutsche Umwelthilfe is taking legal action against Lidl's accusation of false allegations. The injunction claims made by Lidl are grammatical quibbles that do not alter the criticism levelled by DUH. On 17 May, the discounter had warned DUH about two grammatical subtleties.
Just a few weeks ago, it was almost impossible to walk from A to B or surf the net in Germany, without being surprised by Günther Jauch. The presenter is the advertising face of a Marketing campaign of the Lidl supermarket group, in which the advantages of the chain's so-called „circulation bottle“ were emphasised.
The German Environmental Aid Association (DUH), among others, took offence at some points. Shortly after the campaign started, the DUH criticised in a press release on 26 April among other things, that the study on which the campaign is based „compares apples with pears“, as the specific product „reusable bottle“ was compared with general, ten-year-old average values for reusable bottles. From DUH's point of view, a best practice example in the single-use sector should be compared with a corresponding best practice example in the reusable sector. The environmental and consumer protection organisation also pointed out that the Lidl recycling system cannot be transferred to all other single-use bottle systems.
On 3 May, Lidl again responded to the allegations with a press release and accused the DUH of spreading false claims. The association has now reaffirmed all previous criticisms of Lidl's single-use plastic bottles as factually correct and responded on 16 May with a request to Lidl to issue a cease-and-desist declaration.
Barbara Metz, Federal Managing Director of DUH: „Lidl's response to our fact check is increasingly thin-skinned. We even see our criticism of Lidl's single-use plastic bottles confirmed by the publications presented by the discounter. Lidl has demonstrably not compared itself with top performers in the reusable sector with its specific disposable bottles. Average reusable data up to ten years old was used to evaluate the special Lidl disposable system. Furthermore, the use of 100 per cent recycled material advertised by Lidl in the German market cannot be achieved for all market participants due to the system, because up to five per cent of the material can be lost during recycling processes. The fact that Lidl criticises these facts as false claims borders on a denial of reality. After all, these are the results of a life cycle assessment that the discounter itself commissioned from the Ifeu Institute. We welcome the opportunity to substantiate our criticism of Lidl's single-use plastic lobbying as part of the legal dispute we have initiated."
Despite several invitations to Lidl board member Gerd Chrzanowski and Günther Jauch to a meeting at a regional mineral water company in Baden-Württemberg, the DUH says it has not yet been possible to find a date. The DUH is prepared to submit a third or fourth deadline proposal, to have a discussion about a „correct“ comparison of packaging systems and their environmental impact.
Lidl responded to the legal proceedings with a short press release on 16 May. According to the company, the DUH is „trying to regain opinion leadership in the discussion about ecological drinks packaging. It does not cite any evidence that would be suitable to substantially refute the campaign's statements on the Lidl reusable bottle.“ The company also complains that Lidl's offer of a „constructive, fact-based dialogue on the ecological transformation of the beverage packaging market“ was not accepted.
Lidl then announced on 17 May, to also take legal action against DUH's statements and issue a warning letter. Specifically, the DUH claims that used disposable PET bottles are purchased from other companies and that the system of disposable PET bottles with a high recycling rate cannot be transferred to other companies.
Lidl has already stated publicly and comprehensibly that these statements are refuted by scientifically substantiated facts or are not true. In contrast, the DUH has yet to provide evidence, that reusable bottles are generally better for the environment than recycled bottles and should therefore be promoted at their expense.
On 22 May, the DUH responded by filing a lawsuit against the Lidl's accusation of spreading false claims about its disposable plastic bottles. DUH confirmed the previous points of criticism as factually correct and therefore called on Lidl to withdraw the accusation of false claims by issuing a cease-and-desist declaration on 16 May 2023. As the discounter did not comply with this request, the environmental organisation was forced to do so, took legal action against Lidl and filed a lawsuit with the Berlin Regional Court on 22 May.
„We are interested in a fact-based discussion about the environmental impact of drinks packaging, which is why it is important to draw attention to the obvious disadvantages of Lidl's so-called single-use plastic bottle, which is advertised as particularly ecological. Lidl's public dismissal of our criticisms as false claims is unacceptable and discredits our endeavours to create transparency. We therefore feel compelled to take legal action. Nevertheless, we are prepared to engage in dialogue with the discounter and have already extended several invitations to the Lidl management board, which has not yet made any commitments. Instead of responding to our offer of dialogue, Lidl has sent us a warning for two grammatical subtleties in our publications and does not appear to be interested in an exchange. We are not concerned with linguistic subtleties, but with waste avoidance, resource and climate protection. That is why we are renewing our offer of a dialogue with a regional mineral water company in Baden-Württemberg despite the discounter's legal retort.“
Barbara Metz, Federal Managing Director of DUH
