UK Bans ‘Recycled’ Clothing Ads from Adidas, Uniqlo and Calvin For Lack of Traceability
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned ads for Calvin Klein, Adidas, and Uniqlo for promoting so-called recycled fashion and footwear despite being unable to verify their claims.
Calvin Klein ran paid-for Google ads promoting "recycled" tops for women; Uniqlo advertised fleece coats and jackets made for supposedly "recycled materials, and Adidas advertised "recycled running shoes". Whilst all three companies said they could verify the use of environmentally preferred materials across their collections, none of the products advertised as "recycled" were created in their entirety with fully recycled materials.
Uniqlo countered by saying they had the right international certificates to assert that their products were made with a substantial share of recycled materials, to which the ASA then asked for the Japanese company to clarify this in their ads, lest consumers believe the products are made with 100% recycled inputs.
Miles Lockwood, ASA director of complaints and investigations, goes on to say that “when absolute terms like ‘recycled’ are used, the basis of those claims should be clearly explained and properly supported by evidence. Without that, there’s a risk that people could be misled. We’ll be continuing to monitor ads making green claims, taking action where we do see ads breaking the rules, whilst also supporting advertisers with advice and guidance to help them get it right."
The latest bans are the result of wider investigation by the ASA into greenwash marketing by the retail fashion industry. Last year, the government body also banned ads for Nike, Superdry, and Lacoste for "misleading" consumers about how environmentally sustainable their products truly were.
