Szentkirályi's website suggested PET plastic had no environmental cost

Szentkirályi Magyarország, Hungary's best-known mineral water brand, marketed its bottles with green claims: '100%-ban újrahasznosítható' (100% recyclable), 'Gyűjtsd szelektíven!' (collect it separately) and 'Palackból palackot, 25% RePET' (bottle to bottle, 25% recycled PET). On its website the commercial communication went further, suggesting that the use of PET raw materials has no harmful effect on the environment. The GVH opened its investigation in summer 2024.

The Competition Council split the case. The 'bottle to bottle, 25% RePET' label claim, used between 23 March 2021 and 25 August 2022, was cleared: the company proved its bottles contained at least 25% recycled material. The website content was not cleared — the GVH found it could mislead consumers into believing PET use has no negative environmental impact. No fine followed: the Council accepted a commitment package instead.

The commitments, made binding on 8 May 2026 (case VJ/35/2024), require a compliance programme built on the GVH's green-marketing guidelines, internal training, a review of the website communication, and quarterly publication — until the end of 2029 — of the actual share of PET bottles returned through Hungary's deposit scheme, shown as time-series charts.