The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned adverts from Adidas, Calvin Klein, and Uniqlo, over ‘misleading’ recycling claims.
In rulings published this week, the ASA confirmed it has upheld complaints against the three clothing brands for adverts containing ‘misleading’ recycling claims.
The complaint against Adidas related to a paid-for Google ad that stated ‘Adidas Recycled Running Shoes […] Check Out Our Recycled Shoe Range Today’.
The ASA challenged whether the claim was misleading and could be substantiated.
Adidas argued consumers would interpret the claim ‘Recycled Running Shoes’ as meaning their running shoes contained materials derived from recycled sources.
However, the ruling found that the basis of the claim was not made clear, and no evidence was provided to show that consumers were likely to understand it.
Guidance from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) states that a product should not be described as ‘recycled’ or ‘organic’ if it contains fibres that were not recycled or organic, unless the proportion of non-recycled or non-organic fibres was negligible.
The complaint against Calvin Klein also related to a paid-for Google ad that stated ‘Calvin Klein tops for women. Responsibly sourced collections – Recycled, Organic & More’.
While Calvin Klein argued that customers would interpret the claim to mean that certain collections within the women’s tops range included environmentally preferred materials, the complaint was upheld.
Finally, the ruling against UNIQLO found that a paid-for Google ad for UNIQLO stating ‘Fleece Coats & Jackets – UNIQLO Women’s Range […] Shop UNIQLO Fleece Coats & Jackets Now […] Recycled Materials’ was likely to mislead.
UNIQLO argued that customers were likely to interpret the ad as meaning that the fleece jackets or coats referred to in the ad were made, to a meaningful extent, from recycled materials.
However, the ASA found that the basis of the claim had not been made clear and said they had not seen evidence to support it.