www.peacewiththewild.co.uk

Packaging not recyclable: company responds with attitude

I bought oxygen bleach which was initially described as having 'recyclable' packaging. When the bleach was done and the bag empty I tried to recycle the packaging, as the product listing said. However, the paper exterior was bonded to what appeared to be plastic. I wrote a complaint about the plastic appearance which was met with a polite but vague answer that the material was corn starch and biodegradable. This was not mentioned in their product listing plus even if paper is bonded with cornstarch, this cannot be biodegraded in a home compost bin. Cornstarch furthermore still requires stabiliser and other chemicals to make it work as a bag liner. To biodegrade it requires industrial, specialist methods. My request for a refund was ignored. By again being unclear and incomplete the email reply further added to the appearance of green washing. I reported their business practices to ASA who will have likely replied with recommendations following their own investigation. After I complained again I received a reply with better explanation from one of the owners. They wrote they changed their website description. I was finally offered a refund, as a 'gesture of goodwill', but there was still no recognition of getting it wrong, no apology nor thank you for bringing it to their attention with 2 emails. The tone of the email was snide in their closing wording, possibly because of the ASA report. I am speculating. But had Peace With The Wild apologised for their mistake, accepted accountability and checked their website listing themselves from the 1st email complaint they would not have been reported. I have taken my business to a different eco business that hopefully won't patronise me for complaining and investing unpaid emotional labour to point out their mistakes and work culture. Ethics are important so if you make ethical claims you have to do ethical business.

Date of experience: Aug 10, 2025