The Swiss-based multinational Trafigura has been cautioned by the Dutch advertising standards commission. The commission found an advertisement placed in various newspapers by Trafigura last year to be misleading. The company is currently on trial in the Netherlands for dumping chemical waste in Ivory Coast.
Environmental organisation Greenpeace protested against the advert. In particular, Greenpeace took issue with the sentence in which Trafigura states it “always strives to fulfil its economic and social commitment to the West African region”. The commission ruled that Trafigura could not substantiate this claim. The commission did not have any objections to other parts of the advertisement.
In 2006, Trafigura’s ship Probo Koala left the port of Amsterdam carrying hazardous waste. After sailing with the poisonous cargo to several ports, the waste was finally dumped in and around the Ivory Coast city of Abidjan. At least 15 people died and around ten thousand people became ill.
Last Tuesday, the Trafigura- Probo Koala case came to court in Amsterdam. A number of parties are standing trial for their part in the affair.
source: ANP
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