Adverts claiming plastic grass is eco-friendly are not allowed, says ASA
Regulator upholds complaints that marketing by Evergreens UK Ltd was unsubstantiated and misleading
Adverts claiming plastic grass is “eco-friendly” and “purifies” the atmosphere must be removed after the Advertising Standards Authority upheld complaints of greenwashing.
The ASA upheld concerns that adverts claiming artificial grass produced by Evergreens UK Ltd was eco-friendly were unsubstantiated and misleading. The product was made of plastic, the ASA said, and, taking into account its whole lifecycle, it “had a negative impact on the environment”.
The ASA was asked to examine three adverts for Evergreens’ AIR range, which the company says has been treated with a product called PURETi, a titanium dioxide (TiO2)-containing, water-based, photocatalytic surface treatment.
The brand claimed in promotional material that the range was eco friendly and that as a result of the treatment the grass was “capable of reducing up to 70% of harmful NOx” from the air.
One advert claimed that “1m2 of AIR-treated grass is comparable to the air-purifying effects of one mature tree”.
The ASA examined the evidence put forward by the company, which included a brochure for artificial grass sports pitches with excerpts from a laboratory report. It concluded the observed reduction in NOx was significantly below the 70% reduction claimed in the ads. It found the claims in both cases were not substantiated and were misleading.
“The ads must not appear again in the form complained of,” the ASA said on Wednesday in its ruling. “We told Evergreens UK Ltd to ensure their advertising did not overstate the environmental benefits and air-purifying qualities of their products.”
The advertising body said the evidence put forward did not take into account the full lifecycle of the product.
“The artificial grass was made from plastic,” the ASA said. “We considered that, even if it was transported efficiently and recycled at the end of its lifecycle, the extraction of raw materials and subsequent processing of those materials in order to produce the artificial grass had a negative impact on the environment.”
Gardener and campaigner Charlotte Howard, who complained about the adverts, said: “It was total greenwashing and I am delighted that these claims can no longer be made. I really hope that this will start to put an end to the greenwashing claims of artificial grass companies.”
The Guardian contacted Evergreens UK Ltd for a comment.