Is recycling at risk from Brands?
Thursday, May 6th, 2010 by Nigel
The other day we received the above letter from Kellogg’s threatening ‘further steps’ if we continued to sell a recycled milk bottle jug with their logo on it.
The milk jug in question is a rather lovely retro-style item. Recycled from milk bottles, the designs on the jug - the original batch we had included Typhoo and Nescafe, as well as Kellogg’s - are original adverts that dairies in Devon had put on the side of their bottles in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.
A small Devon based glass recycling company collected the milk bottles and with a bit of creative thinking, turned them into milk jugs - using less energy to do that than completely recycling the glass would have consumed, making dinky and fun jugs, and preserving a little bit of English history into the bargain.
We all know about brands wanting to control the use of their image - and currently we’ve stopped selling the jugs while we work out what to do (we’ve got a couple left if anyone wants to bid for one) - but there’s a wider big issue here for the future, namely if brands are so concerned about their image that they stop their products being re-used and recycled, that can’t be good for the planet. Especially when there’s so much branded stuff in circulation.
You’d have thought that Kellogg’s would have weighed it up and decided that they like the extra brand visibility, and goodwill that these jugs would generate. Gosh, they could even have bought some for giveaways and promotions, or for their boardroom.
According to Kellogg’s website, they ’say’ they’re looking out for the planet:
We are committed to operating a sustainable business that… ensures a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come. Sustainability has always been an integral part of Kellogg’s recipe for success and it will continue to be in the years to come.
But how does stopping a logo from being re-used on a re-made product sit with being committed to sustainability, and does this mean their statement is just more greenwash?
Send in your answers, preferably on the back of a cereal packet.
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May 6th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
This is a slippery slope coated in grease with a huge gust of wind pushing down! Next they are going to say that you cannot resell any of the products unaltered or not. You are not recreating the brand. Who are they to say what happens to your personal property, how you alter it, how you treat it, or resell it? Next it will be a crime to destroy your personal property when accidentally dropping a dish with a logo on it. I think you should asterisk your products with a disclaimer about non endorsement of the logo company. Then write back a pleasant letter saying thanks but no thanks in regards to the “agreement”. Thank you for sharing, I for one will be boycotting Kellogg products until I hear back from them, yes that means they are getting a letter from me!
May 6th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Make an argument with a modified doctrine of first sale. Legally, they have the upper hand, but public relations can be a big thing if the media gets a hold of this. Since you have a few in stock left, sell with a disclaimer that it is you or the product is not associated with Kellog’s. In that case, there would not be a likelihood of confusion. Send a note to all former buyers explaining the situation and ask if anyone thought the product was made/endorsed by Kellog’s.
May 10th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
If the printing on the recycled bottles is the original advert rather than a reproduction then they will have already paid for the advertising space and distribution on the bottles. You could pitch this to them as ‘recycling’ there old advertising money.
From a legal perspective, it would be interesting to know what Kellog’s wanted the dairy to do with the bottles once the sponsorship period had ended. If they were happy for the dairy to continue using the bottles carrying the advert, then they may not have a case against you for selling the repurposed bottles.
May 27th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
Just found your blog - looks like fun. I’ve left a “general enquiry” on Kellogg’s website as below:
“I have just read your letter to Nigel’s Eco Store regarding their wonderful recycled glass jugs bearing your logo. What a disappointment that a company of your size and standing cannot support such an excellent scheme to recycle materials and care for our environment, especially as it was giving you some free advertising. Smahe on you!”
June 24th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Thanks all for the comments and feedback.
We’ve just received this apparently unconnected email from Kellogg:
“…please let me say that I think your website is fab! Full of useful information and gadgets, that can only help with making the UK a ‘greener’ place to live!
I work for Kelloggs, the cereal company, in the finance department and we are trying to become a greener department (and company) and run frequent events internally to highlight, promote and influence greener issues in the office and at home.
The reason that I am contacting you is because we will be running a ‘Go Green’ roadshow in our offices in September on Energy Saving, both in the home and at work, and I am trying to contact local companies for hints and tips that we can promote at this event! Ideally we would like to find a company that can come along and inspire us to do better – and maybe bring some gadgets to enable this! I know that you are too far away from our offices in Manchester, but if you have any hints and tips that you can share or if you know of a similar company that shares in our ‘want’ to create a greener future – anything would be greatly received!”
Maybe we should take along the jugs!
August 1st, 2010 at 9:36 pm
I think if it can be recycled and helps the environment then why not recycle it.
When we recycle we reduce the landfill and some items take years to break down in landfill, so every little helps.
July 12th, 2011 at 9:14 pm
Hi Nigel,
What happened with this?
July 13th, 2011 at 10:14 am
Hi Claire
not much unfortunately. The people who supplied us with the jugs have stopped doing them, and Kellogg’s never got back to us. We contacted a few newspapers, but none wanted to pick the story up - we’d have loved to pursue it further, but there didn’t seem to be any momentum, so we’ve let it drop for the time being….