It’s good to be green!

This week is Recycle Week 2023. The focus this year is on “missed capture” – items in the home which can be recycled but are commonly missed. If you sell goods to consumers, which are made out of recyclable or recycled material, this could be an ideal opportunity to spread the word. You must be careful, however, that any recycling claims you make stand up to scrutiny. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has recently published guidance on its approach to such claims. In particular, advertisers should:

• hold evidence supporting the claims before the publication of the relevant advert
• not include caveats to headline statements such as “100% recycled” 
• not omit any salient information
• not give a misleading impression of the overall environmental impact of their products or manufacturing processes
• not exaggerate the recyclability of products or their packaging, if for example there are components of the products or packaging which cannot be widely recycled
• not give a misleading impression of the overall environmental impact of their products or manufacturing processes

Remember this guidance is not just for Recycle Week and the environment and climate change remain high on the ASA’s agenda. Businesses should regularly review their recycling claims and ensure that they can back them up.  

Marketers should ensure that they only describe products as being “recyclable” if they are actually capable of being recycled.

https://www.asa.org.uk/news/recycled-reminders-for-recycle-week-2023.html