As reported exclusively by the Daily Caller, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has just taken a bold and welcome step to protect everyday Americans from the hidden costs of radical “sustainability” agendas. On Tuesday, AG Uthmeier launched a full antitrust investigation, issuing Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs) to major plastics trade groups and the corporations that follow their lead.

The targets include the U.S. Plastics Pact, the Consumer Goods Forum, and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition — along with heavyweights like Coca-Cola, Target, Unilever, Mondelez, and Nestlé (some of whom have already begun quietly slipping away from the most extreme commitments). These organizations have been coordinating to impose strict environmental targets: ditching so-called “problematic or unnecessary” plastics, hitting arbitrary recycled-content quotas, and redesigning everyday packaging in ways that drive up costs and reduce consumer choices.

AG Uthmeier put it perfectly in his statement: “Environmental groups are pressuring corporations to abandon free market principles and raise prices on consumers for products they don’t want.” He’s exactly right — and it’s about time someone in authority said so out loud.

At CFACT we have been sounding the alarm on this exact issue for years. Back in October 2025 we highlighted the multi-state letter from ten Republican attorneys general warning these same groups that their coordinated “Plastics Pact” schemes looked an awful lot like unlawful restraints of trade. Now Florida is following through with real investigative muscle. This is precisely the kind of constructive oversight we need.

Let’s be clear: plastics are one of the great success stories of modern technology. They keep food fresh, reduce food waste, enable life-saving medical devices, and make products lighter, safer, and more affordable. Yet ideologically driven activists treat them as public enemy number one. Instead of focusing on practical solutions — better waste management, improved recycling infrastructure, and innovation in biodegradable materials where it actually makes sense — these pacts push top-down mandates that force companies to collude on product design and pricing.

The result? Higher grocery bills, flimsier packaging that fails to protect goods, and fewer options on store shelves — all in the name of “ESG” virtue signaling. Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild, who gave this quote in the Daily Caller article, nailed it: these organizations prioritize “woke politics over consumers.” American Energy Institute CEO Jason Isaac also added that collective restrictions under the banner of sustainability raise serious concerns about reduced competition and constrained choice.

This isn’t environmentalism — its economic warfare disguised as green virtue. When corporations join hands with activist groups to eliminate products consumers actually want and replace them with more expensive alternatives, they are effectively taxing families without a vote. That’s why CFACT has always championed free-market environmentalism: real stewardship that respects science, economics, and the needs of real people, not the fantasies of global bureaucrats or coastal elites.

Florida’s action sends a powerful message nationwide. It reaffirms that corporate activism cannot come at the expense of fair competition and the rule of law. We at CFACT applaud Attorney General Uthmeier and stand ready to support similar efforts in other states. The American people deserve products that work, prices they can afford, and an environment protected through practical innovation — not ideological mandates.

Stay tuned to CFACT.org. We will continue shining a light on these costly schemes and fighting for the constructive, pro-consumer, pro-environment policies that actually deliver results.