An advertisement for Persil detergent, a brand of giant Unilever, which it claims is “the most environmentally friendly on the planet”, was deemed misleading by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which banned its publication on Wednesday.
The regulator concluded that this claim was unclear and that the advertisement “may be misleading”, particularly because it had not demonstrated that “the entire life cycle of the product has a lower environmental impact than a previous formulation”.
“Advertisement should not appear in its current form,” the American Forensic Society said, asking Unilever that the “basis for environmental claims be clear in future advertisements” and that these are “based on the entire life cycle of products, unless otherwise stated.” “
The ad, which aired on British television earlier this year, showed children picking up trash in rivers and on beaches. She claimed that the detergent, which is sold in partially recycled plastic containers, is also effective at 30°C and short cycles.
Food and hygiene giant Unilever previously argued to the ASA that these two features actually make them more environmentally friendly, arguing that lower temperatures and shorter wash cycles use less energy.
But the regulator considered that “it was not clear whether these were new developments and whether they were intended” to advertise “laundry detergents” or to apply them more broadly to Persil’s range of products.
A month ago, the UK’s competition regulator announced that it was investigating a number of fashion brands such as Boohoo and Asos, accused of being severely polluting, to see if their environmental promises on certain products were true, which has often not been debated.
Ode-acc / zm
“Subtly charming bacon junkie. Infuriatingly humble beer trailblazer. Introvert. Evil reader. Hipster-friendly creator.”