Mobil to Delete Degradability Claim From Hefty Bags

Mobil Corp., criticized by environmentalists for allegedly misleading advertising, said today that it will delete all references to degradability on its Hefty trash bags.

Mobil’s announcement follows a Federal Trade Commission investigation started earlier this month into charges of deceptive advertising and packaging.

Mobil Chemical Co., a division of the nation’s second-largest oil company, said it will continue to make Hefty trash bags with an “environmentally safe additive” that speeds their decomposition when exposed to sunlight, but it will delete the references to degradability on the packaging.

Environmentalists say the reference to degradability is misleading because the majority of trash bags are not exposed to sunlight long enough to biodegrade but end up in landfills that are rarely exposed to sunlight.