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On February 10, 2026, Republican attorneys general from 10 states sent letters to 80 companies warning them that their participation in groups seeking to reduce plastic usage may constitute a violation of federal and state antitrust and consumer protection laws. The letter campaign was led by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier.
Uthmeier's office posted online a sample letter addressed to Costco.
The letters target companies the AGs believe to be members of one or more of three environmental organizations—the U.S. Plastics Pact, the Consumer Goods Forum, and the Sustainable Packaging Coalition—that allegedly seek coordination among the companies with the goal of reducing the use of plastics. These organizations, the AGs allege, "pressure companies into artificially changing the output and quality of their goods and services," thus distorting normal market forces. Such initiatives, the AGs warn, may constitute "unlawful restraints of trade in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act," and their states' antitrust and consumer protection laws.
Coordinated reductions in the output or quality of goods and services, under some circumstances, can be anticompetitive.
The AGs put the companies on notice that they should expect "formal investigative demands, subpoenas, or other compulsory legal process" regarding their participation in these initiatives, and that they should preserve relevant documents, communications, and data.
In addition to Florida, the letters were signed by the AGs of Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Texas, and West Virginia.
The letters are the latest example of a significant uptick in antitrust enforcement by state attorneys general across the country.
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