In the UK, advertising for Nike, Superdry, and Lacoste has been banned. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) reported that the brands misled customers by using the term "sustainable" in paid Google ads but failed to provide evidence to support their environmental claims. This is reported by UNN with reference to The Guardian.
Details
The Advertising Standards Authority noted that environmental claims must be clear and supported by a high level of justification.
This claim was absolute, and a high level of justification was needed to support it. We have not seen evidence to support it. Therefore, we concluded that the advertisement was likely misleading.
The regulator also indicated that the three advertisements lacked information about the full life cycle of the products and their environmental impact, which made the claims of "sustainability" unclear and inaccurate.
In addition, the ASA pointed to the lack of evidence that the products do not harm the environment throughout their life cycle.
The brands explained the situation differently:
- Nike noted that the advertisement concerned only a part of the products, and the wording "in general terms" did not apply to all goods.
- Superdry reported that the purpose of the campaign was to show a range of products that have "sustainability attributes."
- Lacoste confirmed that it is working to reduce the carbon footprint of its products but admitted that the terms "green," "sustainable," and "eco-friendly" are difficult to substantiate.
The ASA banned each of the advertisements and obliged retailers to "ensure a clear explanation of the basis of future environmental claims and their meaning, as well as a high level of substantiation to support absolute claims."
For reference
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is an independent British regulator that monitors compliance with advertising rules. The ASA ensures that advertising is honest, truthful, and does not mislead consumers, particularly regarding goods, services, and environmental characteristics. The regulator has the right to ban advertising or demand changes if companies violate the advertising code.
Recall
Internal Meta documents indicate that 10% of the company's annual revenue in 2024, or about $16 billion, came from advertising fraudulent and prohibited products. The company blocks advertisers only with 95% certainty of fraud, charging higher rates for less certainty.