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Australia: ACCC takes action over ‘flushable’ wipes

By  |  December 13, 2016

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking action against Kimberly-Clark and Pental alleging they made false or misleading representations and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in relation to “flushable” wipes.

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    The ACCC alleges consumers were led to believe the products had similar characteristics to toilet paper, would break up or disintegrate in a time frame and manner similar to toilet paper, and were suitable to be flushed down the toilet — when this was not the case.

    The action follows a complaint by consumer group Choice, which singled out Kimberly-Clark’s Flushable Wipes for Kids for a “Shonky Award” in 2015.

    “The ACCC alleges that the impression given by the representations which Kimberly-Clark and Pental each made about these products was that they were suitable to be flushed down household toilets in Australia, when this was not the case,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.

    “These products did not, for example, disintegrate like toilet paper when flushed. Australian water authorities face significant problems when non-suitable products are flushed down the toilet as they contribute to blockages in household and municipal sewerage systems.”

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