Nike, Superdry and Lacoste ads banned in UK over ‘misleading’ green claims | Advertising Standards Authority

Advertisements for Nike, Superdry and Lacoste have been banned in the UK because they mislead consumers about the environmental credentials of their products.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said paid Google adverts run by the three retailers used terms such as “sustainable”, “sustainable materials” or “sustainable style” without providing evidence to prove the eco-friendly claims.

Nike’s advertisement for tennis polo shirts made reference to “sustainable materials.” The company said the promotion was “worded in general terms” and argued that consumers would interpret it to refer to some, but not all, products offered.

Similarly, Superdry, which urges consumers to “unlock a wardrobe that combines style and sustainability”, said the aim of the ad was to highlight that it manufactures, sources and sells a wide range of products with “sustainability attributes and credentials”.

Lacoste, which promotes sustainable children’s clothing, said it had been working for several years to reduce the carbon footprint of all its products, but admitted claims such as “green”, “sustainable” and “eco-friendly” were “very difficult to substantiate”.

The ASA said the UK Advertising Code states that environmental claims must be clear and “supported by a high level of substantiation”.

She said that in each case, retailers’ use of the phrase “sustainable” included no additional information, making the claim “ambiguous and unclear”.

“The assertion was absolute and therefore a high level of justification for support had to be produced,” the watchdog said. “We had not seen any evidence to support this. We therefore concluded that the advert was likely to mislead.”

The ASA also highlighted the lack of evidence showing that the products were not harmful to the environment when their entire life cycle was taken into account.

It banned each of the adverts and asked retailers to “ensure that the basis and meaning of future environmental claims is clear and that a high level of substantiation is maintained to support absolute claims.”

Separately, the ASA also banned an advert for gaming company Betway featuring Formula 1 star Sir Lewis Hamilton because it was likely to appeal to under-18s.

The paid Facebook ad, which ran ahead of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July, featured a video of three Formula One drivers standing in a grandstand watching a race with their backs to the spectator, with Hamilton’s name written on the back of his red driver’s uniform.

One complainant challenged whether the use of Hamilton broke UK advertising rules, which do not allow celebrities likely to have a strong appeal to under-18s to appear in gambling adverts.

Betway did not dispute that Hamilton has strong appeal among under-18s, but claimed that the way he was presented in the advert limited that appeal because it did not show his face or frontal view.

The ASA said consumers, including those aged under 18, would have clearly recognized it was Hamilton, concluding the advert was “irresponsible and breached the code”.