AUSTRALIA (From The AUSTRALIAN) -- The consumer watchdog has lashed out at some of the biggest players in the fast-moving consumer goods sector over allegedly misleading advertising of "flushable" wipes.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it had instituted proceedings in the Federal Court against Kimberly-Clark Australia and White King seller Pental Limited.

Labelling of the wipes as "flushable" wrongly led consumers to believe the products had similar characteristics to toilet paper, would break up in a timeframe and manner similar to toilet paper, and were suitable to be flushed down the toilet, the ACCC contends.

"The ACCC alleges that the impression given by the representations which Kimberly-Clark and Pental each made about these products was that they were suitable to be flushed down household toilets in Australia, when this was not the case," chairman Rod Sims said.

"These products did not, for example, disintegrate like toilet paper when flushed. Australian water authorities face significant problems when non-suitable products are flushed down the toilet as they contribute to blockages in household and municipal sewerage systems."

Allegations levelled against global giant Kimberly-Clark relate to the labelling of its products across three years to May 2016 in relation to advertising of its Kleenex Cottonelle Flushable Cleansing Cloths as "completely flushable" and able to "break down in sewerage system or septic tank".

The ACCC concerns extend to the company's allegedly erroneous claims the products were made in Australia.

The complaint levelled against Pental focuses on its White King Power Clean Flushable Toilet Wipes, which were advertised as a "flushable toilet wipe" that disintegrated like toilet paper for the five years to August 2016, according to the watchdog.

In both proceedings the ACCC is seeking fines, costs and corrective notices due to purported false or misleading representations that would contravene the Australian Consumer Law.

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