Who Gives a Crap ad flushed away in ASA crackdown

Toilet paper brand Who Gives a Crap has been forced to tear up its latest advertising campaign in a major crackdown on “misleading” environmental claims that has also seen ads for Grind Coffee, SportShoes.com and ProCook fried.

The rulings form part of a wider piece of work on ads making carbon neutral delivery or similar claims, with all four ads identified for investigation through both intelligence gathered by the Advertising Standards Authority and the use of the Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively search for online ads that might break the rules.

A video about recycled toilet paper brand Who Gives a Crap’s history included text in the ad’s caption stating “carbon neutral shipping”. However, the ASA probe discovered that consumers could only find out about the claim by clicking on a link to a page that explained how.

Meanwhile, an ad for Grind stated: “Coffee From The Grind Roastery, Delivered To Your Door Each Month. Carbon Positive Delivery.”

In response to the ASA investigation, the company said the claim referred to emissions from delivering orders placed through its website, which were offset through a third-party service funding a carbon removal scheme.

However, the watchdog ruled that the term “carbon positive” was ambiguous and could be understood as either meaning carbon neutral or suggesting a greater environmental benefit. The ad did not explain that the claim relied on offsetting credits or clarify its relationship to actual emissions reductions.

Banning the ad, the ASA said it had “reminded Grind to ensure that they made the basis of all environmental claims clear, including in relation to what extent any ‘Carbon Positive Delivery’ claims depended on the use of offsetting credits or the actual removal of any source of emissions”.

Next up is SportsShoes.com, whose Google search ad claimed “over 12,000 products on site from a wide range of brands … Carbon Neutral Deliveries”. The company told the ASA that it measured emissions associated with deliveries from its warehouse to customers and invested in a carbon sequestration project to offset an equivalent amount.

But once again, the ASA found the ad did not explain that the claim was based on offsetting. It also noted that the website page intended to provide supporting information had been deleted and that the ad could direct consumers to different pages that did not explain the claim.

Finally, to kitchenware brand ProCook, which also ran a Google search ad, this time promoting “Next Day Delivery Available – Carbon Neutral Delivery”.

In its defence, the company said the delivery service was provided by a third party that had reduced some emissions and offset the remainder. It argued that consumers would understand the claim to relate only to delivery from its premises to customers, rather than the wider product lifecycle.

Even so, while the ASA accepted that the claim referred to delivery alone it ruled the ad did not make clear how carbon neutrality had been achieved. It also found that ProCook’s website did not explain the basis of the claim.

An ASA spokesperson said: “Environmental claims must be made clear and supported by evidence. If ads leave out important information, they can risk misleading people.

“Carbon neutral or net zero claims can mislead if it’s not clear what they actually mean or how they’ve been achieved.

“Where these claims rely on carbon offsetting, this must be made clear so that people don’t think what’s being advertised produces no or few emissions.

“We’ll continue to take action when these types of claims are misleading or lack the information people need to make informed decisions when it comes to making greener choices.”

Who Gives a Crap ad flushed away in ASA crackdown

Be the first to comment on "Who Gives a Crap ad flushed away in ASA crackdown"