Don’t Like the Competition Talking about Science? No Problem, Just Take ’Em to Court
August 23, 2011
It isn’t just the FDA that wants to censor science in America. Three major plastic bag manufacturers are suing eco-friendly ChicoBag simply for citing scientific facts and statistics. Strike back with our new Action Alert!
Plastic grocery bags are not biodegradable. They clog waterways, spoil the landscape, pollute the soil and water (and therefore us), and choke birds and marine mammals who mistake them for food. Once they end up in landfills, they may take 1,000 years or more to break down into ever smaller particles that continue to pollute the environment.
These are facts.
Three large plastic bag makers—Hilex Poly Company, LLC; Superbag Operating, LTD; and Advance Polybag, Inc. apparently don’t like these kind of facts and have filed a lawsuit in South Carolina. They are suing the ChicoBag Company, claiming that it has caused harm to their businesses.
ChicoBag is trying to help eliminate the unnecessary use of single-use paper and plastic bags. They have designed reusable bags that are durable, tasteful, and convenient: they are small enough to tote in a pocket and have features that allow them to be clipped anywhere.
The three single-use plastic bag manufacturers accuse ChicoBag of unfair advertising and unfair competition. What did ChicoBag do that was so wrong? The company merely cited the effects of plastic bags on the environment on its Learn the Facts web page:
- “A reusable bag needs only to be used eleven times to have a lower environmental impact than using eleven disposable bags.” Source: EPA
- “Only one percent of plastic bags are recycled.” Source: EPA
- “Somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year.” Source: National Geographic
Note that none of these facts come from ChicoBag. The company is simply citing well-known information from reputable sources. The same information has been used in countless publications, news stories, and websites over many years; ChicoBag is one of the few organizations that actually provides documented sources for the facts they use. In other words, the plastic bag industry seems to be angry that ChicoBag quoted the Environmental Protection Agency and National Geographic and told the truth. (We see this kind of behavior all the time from the FDA but it’s less usual in commerce.)
The lawsuit was conveniently filed in South Carolina because that state has no so-called anti-SLAPP laws—laws that protect against lawsuits “intended to censor, intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.” The plaintiffs are citing the Lanham Act, a piece of trademark legislation which says a company can sue over claims which merely point to their product in general.
The discovery process (where both sides trade pertinent information with each other) is currently underway, and a jury trial is scheduled for sometime in early 2012.
Andy Keller, the owner and president of ChicoBag, has posted a detailed timeline showing the history and tactics of the single-use plastic bag industry against eco-friendly alternatives.
Plasticbaglaws.org is an excellent resource for staying vigilant on the issue. They also have a listing of all federal, state, and local laws and pending legislation pertaining to plastic bags on their website.
We have seven different Action Alerts for residents of those states with pending legislation about single-use plastic bags. None of the bills ask for an out-and-out ban. Many place a fee on single-use disposable bags, and some require that the plastic bags meet certain environmental standards. Further, some of the bills require that retailers sell reusable bags at the check-out counter. Supporting these bills is a good way to stand up to the plastic bag industry and let them know we don’t like their predatory tactics of intimidation. We also have a general Action Alert for residents of the other 43 states to ask their state legislators to introduce similar bills. Please take action today!
Indiana • Maryland • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Vermont • Virginia • Washington •
I’ve been saying this about plastic since it’s inception in the 50’s. I have always believed it is basically unsafe and I taught for 45 years.
It was hard for me fight plastic so i joined in, but I was one of the first to stop buying plastic, too.
I shop thrift stores for affordable glass products.
Helping young people have good health should be a major concern for business and polluting companies. What we have is “no conscious” thinkers at play. Opah brought out a waste yard the size of Texas from plastic garbage is killing life and choking our shorelines.
Should I say more?
Three words: Plastic is forever.
They’ve filed this lawsuit simply because there is finally a “small enough” business using this common knowledge about plastic bags that it won’t cost them too much to sue. Any of the other entities that also “published” this information were too large and could easily fight back and win against them. These plastic bag manufacturers see easy pickings and are going for it.
i wish you would get your facts right chico bag is a bag made in china polluting their water our air the amount of benzene ,toxic dyes,oil, are being spewed on the earth to make this bag.coal ,bauxite,iron are all strip mines to make this product for the electricity just to make the aluminium carabeaner,this is a impulse buy for people who dont realize that organically grown american fiber bags are the solution,if children are being born with birthdefects from the benzene and people are dieing for the oil to make this bag its far from sustainable
Two things:
there is a machine that will take plastic back to oil. Only it was invented in Japan so we seem to be unable to put that to use. Seems like that would be a good idea to pursue on a large scale, but that would put the oil companies on notice maybe. check these siges: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_depolymerization
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/a-new-way-to-turn-plastic-into-fuel/
now if that was on a platform in the ocean sucking up the huge clots of plastc….
A person or company should be able to quote Verified science. If you do not stand up to that test then maybe you should retool
How many have conducted their own ‘plastic bag’ experiment to see how long it takes tor it to rot?
Outside 23/7/365, it takes about 2 years for the thing to shred. And if it is in the SUN, it would take less. dont believe it? DO IT YOURSELF and see.
All life is interdependent; if any species is threatened or lost, we humans are directly threatened. Any product or event that weakens or destroys a plant or animal, will eventually defeat the human race. Lying about it because the truth affects your business is dishonorable, dishonest and deadly. No corporate income is worth the lives of human beings or the species that supports them – That’s all species on earth.
Why oh why do we throw this stuff into landfills? If ever human beings were responsible for anything it is our waste and it’s obvious that we are not.
The fact that it is known how plastic bags hare the environment is why I don’t understand why these three plastic bag manufacturors can even file a suit. It’s ludicrus. It’s an outrage. The really evil part of this is that now Chicobag will have to hire an expensive lawyer to defend them unless they already have a team of lawyers on retainer. People shouldn’t be allowed to put other people out of business just for speaking the truth. I hear people making false claims all the time on TV and nobody sues them. Oh. Big pharma can do that, right? Oh well.
Do not sue to censor the competition-these predatory tactics are offensive. Shame on these plastic bag companies!
We see the attack on free speech everywhere today. We will not long remain even somewhat free when the truth cannot be told. When it is against the law to tell the truth we are not far from the concentration camps. And that is the simple truth.
get a grip and do the right thing for this earth
Every day I turn around and see something else that is so obviously wrong, with an obviously right solution, but money trumps right over wrong virtually every time. I think we need to get money out of politics before we see changes throughout the business industry. It’s simply disgusting.
Every day I turn around and see something else that is so obviously wrong, with an obviously right solution, but money trumps right over wrong virtually every time. I think we need to get money out of politics before we see changes throughout the business industry. It’s simply disgusting.
This is an old trick used previously. When you cannot fight the science, fight the ones who are publishing the science. How many times have I see this? Many, Many Times.