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Social media backlash against Ecostore 'recall'
Date Added: August 11, 2020 07:39:54 PM
Author: Sutra Web Directory
Category: Regional: New Zealand

Ecostore has issued a permanent ‘’recall’’ on its containers to make a point about the country’s lack of plastic recycling facilities – but not everyone is impressed.

The company, which makes a range of body care, laundry and other products, says it will take back its own bottles and have them remade rather than leave them to the current overloaded recycling system.

Although its sugar-cane-based bottles could go through the recycling system, the company said in a newly launched social media campaign that the current kerbside system was ‘’overwhelmed’’.

Its bottles were safe, but ‘’as a business we want to take responsibility for our packaging”.

But not everyone was impressed.

The Ecostore Facebook page was flooded with messages from customers who said the tactic was confusing.

“I started mentally tallying up how much money that … I'd have to spend to replace everything,” one customer wrote.

“Very poor way to get attention unless there is actually something wrong with your product, and no amount of explaining or back pedalling can undo bad communication in the first instance,” said another.

Another said: “I just told my partner we have to take everything back to the supermarket due to product recall.”

In response, the company said it had “no intention” of scaring people and the products were safe to use.

‘’The permanent bottle recall is designed to get people’s attention, to highlight the urgency of a very serious problem and demonstrate how Kiwis can be part of the solution,’ chief executive Pablo Kraus said.

Nearly 40 per cent of plastics in New Zealand went straight to landfill and more were shipped overseas.

By taking returns, Ecostore would create a circular system that ensures the bottles did not even enter the recycling systems, the company website added.

It took fewer resources to chip and remake the bottles than to wash them, reheat them and refill them.

Customers are being asked to take the containers into one of the company’s collection points, which include schools and specialist grocery stores in nine towns or cities.

New Zealand Post and CourierPost will pick the bottles up, though post offices are not collection points.

Ecostore plans to launch the recall with Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage on Wednesday.

~ Via Stuff