A group of 10 U.S. State Attorneys General*, led by Florida AG James Uthmeier, announced that they have sent letters to nearly 80 companies, warning them of potential legal actions over their participation in environmental groups advocating for plastic reduction and sustainable packaging.

The announcement follows letters sent by a group of state AGs in October to environmental groups including the U.S. Plastics Pact, Consumer Goods Forum, and the Green Blue Institute, raising anti-trust and consumer protection concerns, with the AGs accusing the coalitions of “pushing major corporations to align on restrictive plastic production and packaging standards,” resulting in reduced competition, higher prices, and limited consumer choice.

The letters form the latest in a series of anti-ESG campaigns by Republican politicians in the U.S., targeting climate-focused groups and their signatory companies. In 2024, for example, several states launched lawsuits against assets managers BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street for allegedly using their positions in climate-focused investment initiatives such as the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM) to manipulate energy markets. Each of the asset managers have either exited or reduced their participation in NZAM. More recently, 23 state AGs targeted the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) with a letter demanding information about the organization and its members, citing concerns about potential violations of antitrust, consumer protection and other laws from participation in the net zero group.

In the new letters, the AGs warn the companies that their continued participation or coordination with the environmental groups may expose them to antitrust liability, through practices such as setting uniform production or packaging targets, such as the U.S. Plastics Pact’s goals to eliminate unnecessary plastic packaging and to hit recyclability targets.

The letters ask the companies to explain the legal basis for their involvement in the groups, and warns them that the AGs may pursue “formal investigative demands, subpoenas, or other compulsory legal process(es)” related to their participation.

Florida AG James Uthmeier said:

“Multiple advocacy organizations have pressured companies into artificially changing the output and quality of their goods and services in way that normal market forces would not otherwise bring about. These groups were warned that their activity presents serious conflicts with antitrust and consumer protection laws, and advocacy for a particular agenda is not a basis to mislead consumers.”

*The letter was signed by AGs from Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Texas and West Virginia.

Mark founded ESG Today following a 20 year career in investment management and research. Prior to founding ESG Today, Mark worked at Delaney Capital Management (DCM) in Toronto, Canada, most recently as the firm’s head of U.S. equities. While at DCM, Mark was part of the firm’s ESG team, responsible for evaluating and tracking the sustainability factors impacting portfolio companies, and assessing the suitability of companies for portfolio inclusion. Mark also spent several years in the sell-side research industry, covering the technology and services sectors. Mark holds an MBA from Columbia University in New York, a BBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, and is a CFA charterholder.