UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA REPORT LEADS TO $3 MILLION FACE AGAINST KEURIG CANADA OVER COFFEE PODS

By Chandrayee Roy Choudhury, Canada

Thanks to a university of Victoria report, a major company has paid the price for what turned out to be a misleading ad campaign. As Kylie Stanton reports, it involves a claim by Keurig Canada that its coffee pods are easily recyclable across the country – when they’re not.

The Competition Bureau says Keurig Canada will pay a $3 million penalty for making false or misleading claims that its single-use K-Cup pods can be recycled.

In a statement Thursday, the bureau says the company voluntarily reached an agreement that will include the fine plus an $800,000 donation to an environmental charity and $85,000 in Competition Bureau expenses for the case.

Keurig reportedly came to an agreement to a settle a class-action suit in the United States over the same issue last month, though the details of that settlement are not yet public.

"False or misleading claims by businesses to promote 'greener' products harm consumers who are unable to make informed purchasing decisions, as well as competition and businesses who actually offer products with a lower environmental impact."