Unilever’s Persil faces ASA’s ad ban ruling for falsifying environmental claims, company responds

01 Sep 2022 --- The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), UK, has upheld the complaint against Unilever for claims that Persil’s clothes washing liquid was “kinder to our planet.” The ASA ruled that Persil’s advertisement breached the UK Code of Broadcast Advertising (BCAP Code) for misleading advertising, substantiation and environmental claims.

PersonalCareInsights spoke with ASA and Unilever to crackdown on the rising greenwashing claims in the industry. “The general problem is around misleading claims,” Chimere Nwosu, media and public affairs officer at ASA, tells us.

“Whether that’s advertisers not having the evidence to prove how environmentally friendly their product or service is, or exaggerating their green credentials whether through ambiguity, omission, unfair comparisons or absolute overarching claims that overstate a product’s credentials.”

In response to the ASA ruling banning the Persil ad, Unilever spokesperson says: “We are disappointed with the ASA adjudication as this TV advertisement was intended to communicate how Persil removes tough stains in quick and cold washes and how all Persil liquid detergent bottles now contain 50% recycled plastic.”

In the last six months, 9% of ASA rulings were on environmental issues.Crackdown on misleading claims
The ASA outlines the breadth and scope of their work around environmental claims in the Climate Change and the Environment project.

“The ASA conducts proactive monitoring of ad claims across different sectors, and we respond to concerns from members of the public or businesses about green claims they think are misleading or irresponsible. We have several investigations underway that touch on significant issues that we’ll publish in coming months,” Nwosu informs.

She shares that in the last six months, 9% of ASA rulings were on environmental issues, an increase that “amounts to one in ten” cases.

“By June this year, the ASA had resolved 422 complaints regarding 226 ads where ‘environmental claims’ were used. Of these 226 cases, eight were formally investigated, of which six were upheld or upheld in part (and therefore found to have been making misleading claims), while one was not upheld and one was withdrawn.”

Green-wash or greenwash?
Persil said the initiatives were part of a broader Clean Future program by Unilever, launched in 2020, which aimed to eliminate fossil fuels and ensure net zero carbon emissions in cleaning products by 2030. 

The company also said the opening scenes in the ad showing children collecting plastic waste were a visual reference to Unilever’s ‘Dirt is Good’ project, aiming to engage and inspire children aged six to 13 years to consider climate issues and care for the environment.

Whole product life cycleThe TV advertisement was intended to communicate how Persil removes stains in quick and cold washes thus saving energy.
In ASA’s ruling, it found the advert’s claim was unsubstantiated. The BCAP code says that environmental claims must be based on the entire life cycle of the advertised product unless the ad states otherwise, and claims based on only part of an advertised product’s life cycle must not mislead consumers about the product’s total environmental impact.

ASA also found the ad did not state or explain the basis of the comparative claim, such as whether the advertised liquid detergents were “kinder” compared to Persil’s previous products or other products.

“In the context of the entire ad with several messages relating to environmental issues, we considered the meaning and basis of the claim ‘kinder to our planet’ was unclear,” the ruling stated. 

“Additionally, in the absence of evidence demonstrating that the product’s entire life cycle had a lesser environmental impact than a previous formulation, we concluded the ad was likely to mislead.”

By Radhika Sikaria