A South Korean beauty brand admitted that its product marked 'I'm paper bottle' is actually a plastic bottle wrapped in paper

• A South Korean beauty brand said that a bottle labeled "I'm paper bottle" is still made with plastic.
• Consumers noticed that the bottle is still plastic, but with a paper shell.
• "We overlooked the possibility that the naming could mislead people," a statement said.

A South Korean beauty brand issued a clarification after consumers noticed its bottle marked "Hello I'm paper bottle" was actually plastic.

Innisfree, which makes naturally-inspired beauty products, was accused of "greenwashing" after consumers raised concerns about the packaging of its Green Tea Seed Serum, The Korea Herald reported.

A Facebook post in the group "No Plastic Shopping" showed a cutaway image of a plastic bottle inside the paper covering, making one commenter feel "betrayed," the paper reported.

-Teresa Anderson (@1TeresaAnderson) April 8, 2021

The image has prompted a welter of online commentary. In response, Innisfree said in a statement: "We used the term 'paper bottle' to explain the role of the paper label surrounding the bottle," The Korea Times reported.

"We overlooked the possibility that the naming could mislead people to think the whole packaging is made of paper. We apologize for failing to deliver information in a precise way," the statement added.

Innisfree launched the product as part of its parent company Amorepacific's commitment to "less plastic," according to a company news release from July last year.

The company said the bottle uses 51.8% less plastic than normal packaging, and that it is recyclable, The Korea Times reported.

Amorepacific's July corporate news release said as well that there is 10% recycled plastic in the bottle's cap and shoulder. "Both the paper bottle and lighter plastic container can be sorted out and recycled after use," the release said.

Amorepacific did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.