Hiding behind their “sustainability masks” are fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs) companies, actively financing into false solutions with little emphasis on reuse-based alternatives in their product delivery systems. Their contributions for reuse-based alternatives are incredibly underwhelming with only 39 out of 265 projects from 2018 to April 2021.
For three years in a row, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé have been found to be the top three plastic polluters globally, yet they continue to invest in false solutions rather than put effort in reducing their plastic footprint.

The Coca-Cola Company and Nestle are also in the top three list of polluters in Malaysia according to Break Free From Plastic’s Global Brand Audit 2020 report (https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/globalbrandauditreport2020/). Coca-Cola has been financing 43 false solution projects, Nestle 36 and PepsiCo 21!
False solutions like unproven-at-scale technologies, plastic neutrality schemes, false narrative projects and announced-then-nothing projects are harmful to society and the planet. False solutions aren’t REAL, and it only allows these companies to produce and pollute more while manipulating the true meaning of sustainability. Not only that, none of these solutions will help lessen the burden we already face in this crisis.
Why is recycling counted as a false solution?
Our recycling system is deeply flawed, and only a few types of plastic products can be effectively and economically recycled. In most global north countries, plastic for recycling is shipped to lower income countries where it is sometimes dumped, burned, or recycled in poor conditions for the workers.
As the amount of plastics is projected to quadruple by 2050, these companies should be held accountable for their actions! We demand a systematic change at all levels through refill/reuse/packaging-free delivery methods of products, transparency, integrity and responsibility in every step of production to end-life of products, accessibility of sustainable platforms to all societal levels, and to put an end in the financing and utilisation of false solutions.
You can access the full report at https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/missing-the-mark-unveiling-corporate-false-solutions-to-the-plastic-crisis/
#EnoughFalseSolutions #breakfreefromplastic