ec-H20 Claims Still Being Challenged

According to a recent article published by the Pioneer Press at Twincities.com, Tennant Co.’s ecH20, also known as “electrified water”, has received heavy criticism from the company’s competitors. In fact, competitors in Europe, including Alfred Karcher & Co. and Nilfisk-Advance, have taken their argument against the technology to the court, with legal or regulatory decisions against Tennant in three countries and a fourth set for the future.

However, even with the controversy in full swing, Tennant stands by its technology and plans to appeal any court decisions. The controversy started in 2008 when Tennant first introduced ec-H20 and claimed that the water is electrically charged by equipment inside the scrubber. Through this electric activation, Tennant claims the water is converted into an environmentally clean cleaning agent, which enables the water to act like a detergent.

These claims caused suspicion among competitors who said that Tennant’s advertisements about its ec-H20 technology were “misleading.” To date, the company’s technology has been challenged several times, including by a regional court in Germany, the British Advertising Standards Authority and the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in the U.S.

The Germany court found several of Tennant's advertisements about its ec-H2O technology "misleading." That included claims that the ec-H2O process "activates water to perform like a powerful detergent," and that it "makes its own powerful cleaner." This decision required Tennant to change its advertising. The BBB’s advertising division and the British authority both found Tennant’s claims to be inadequately supported by the evidence in comparative tests and recommended that the claims be discontinued. However, as these are self-regulating agencies, these decisions are nonbinding.

Tennant’s competitors are not giving up so easily though, and now a Belgium court will challenge the claims.

To learn more about the rulings and ec-H20 claims, read the full article here.