European Judge Rules In Favor Of SodaStream That Traditional Soda And Water Brands Cannot Stop SodaStream's Ecological Campaigns

Belgium Court Rules That SodaStream Campaigns Are "Socially Relevant" in response to Legal Action Taken By Coca-Cola, Danone, Nestlé And Spadel

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SodaStream

Sep 20, 2018, 08:00 ET

AIRPORT CITY, Israel, Sept. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SodaStream International Ltd., the No. 1 sparkling water brand in the world, announced today that the producers of bottled soft drinks and sparkling water Coca-Cola European Partners Belgium (Chaudfontaine), Danone (Evian), Nestlé Waters (Vittel and Perrier) and Spadel (Spa en Bru) have definitively lost their battle against SodaStream. Upon filing a lawsuit for the second time against the sparkling water brand for the their advertising campaigns 'Shame or Glory', 'No Planet. No Christmas' and 'Don't be a homoschlepien'.

The online campaigns from SodaStream stressed the environmentally friendly benefits of owning a SodaStream, however, the prosecutors called the campaigns "humiliating for consumers of plastic" and wanted to ban them via a penalty of 50,000 euros per day of publication. Upon hearing the arguments, the judge ruled in favor of SodaStream saying that SodaStream's message, namely that plastic disposable bottles cause damage to the environment, is "essential and socially relevant information."

The pollution resulting from the use of plastic bottles is a globally growing problem. At the UN conference on oceans in July 2017, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said: "If we do nothing, there will be more plastic than fish swimming in the sea by 2050." On the European level there is a turnaround going on, as shown from the proposals of the European Commission and the acknowledgement that the plastic waste mountain is problematic. In Europe, proposals are being formulated to reduce plastic waste: by 2030, every plastic packaging on the market must be recyclable and, in addition, half of the 26 million tons of plastic waste must also be recycled by 2030.

Nevertheless, avoiding plastic waste is better, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than recycling plastic waste. The SodaStream campaigns are aimed at tackling the cause of the waste problem. SodaStream offers a sustainable alternative to sparkling water and soft drinks in single-use plastic bottles. One SodaStream bottle can save up to 2,000 single use bottles. The impact on the environment is therefore considerable.

The Brussels Court of Appeal rejected the request from the traditional soda and water brands and found that the campaigns in question did not harm their image. According to the judge's judgment, the campaigns are not disparaging for the sellers of bottled waters, the campaigns are focused solely on the negative impact that the PET bottles have on the environment. The judge also said that these campaigns are humorous and not misleading. The campaigns are therefore perfectly legal.

About SodaStream

SodaStream is the No. 1 sparkling water brand in the world and the leading manufacturer and distributor of Sparkling Water Makers. We enable consumers to easily transform ordinary tap water into sparkling water and flavored sparkling water in seconds. By making ordinary water fun and exciting to drink, SodaStream helps consumers drink more water. Sparkling Water Makers offer a highly differentiated and innovative solution to consumers of bottled and canned carbonated soft drinks. The products promote health and wellness, are environmentally friendly, cost effective, and are customizable and fun to use. Products are available at more than 80,000 retail stores across 45 countries. To learn more about how SodaStream makes water exciting and follow SodaStream on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube, visit www.sodastream.com.

SOURCE SodaStream