Meal Delivery Service Gobble Says it will Discontinue ‘Eco-Friendly’ Advertising Claims for its Packaging

New York, NY – Nov. 18, 2015 – Gobble, Inc., a meal delivery service, has said that it will discontinue  “eco-friendly” advertising claims made by the company for its product packaging following an inquiry by the National Advertising Division.

NAD is an investigative unit of the advertising industry’s system of self-regulation. It is administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. As part of its ongoing monitoring, NAD requested substantiation for claims that appeared at the advertiser’s website, including:

• “Are the packaging materials eco-friendly? Yes! We’ve selected insulated liners that are biodegradable so that you can dispose of them in your trash with minimal impact on the environment.”
• “The boxes that we use to package your kits are also 100% eco-friendly and made entirely from previously recycled materials.”
• “Thank you for helping our efforts to build a sustainable and eco-friendly business.”

NAD noted in its decision that it was extremely concerned about the advertiser’s strong eco-friendly claims, as well as its unqualified biodegradability claims.

In response to NAD’s inquiry, the advertiser stated that, although it had a good faith belief that its claims were true when it made them, it is permanently discontinuing the claims at issue. The advertiser said that it has removed the claims from its website, and the claims are not being otherwise distributed by or on behalf of Gobble.

In reliance on the advertiser’s representation that the claims had been permanently discontinued, NAD did not review the claims on their merits.  The voluntarily discontinued claims will be treated, for compliance purposes, as though NAD recommended their discontinuance and the advertiser agreed to comply.

Gobble, in its advertiser’s statement, said the company “appreciates NAD’s guidance on national standards for environmental claims and, notwithstanding Gobble’s good-faith belief in the accuracy of its claims, Gobble has withdrawn the claims as outlined by NAD.”
Note: A recommendation by NAD to modify or discontinue a claim is not a finding of wrongdoing and an advertiser’s voluntary discontinuance or modification of claims should not be construed as an admission of impropriety. It is the policy of NAD not to endorse any company, product, or service. Decisions finding that advertising claims have been substantiated should not be construed as endorsements.