The ASA continues to perk up* when it comes to brands making environmental claims. If you want your brand to avoid getting brewed into a legal issue, here’s a shot of what you need to know to keep your claims from causing grounds for confusion.**
*Warning: this article contains terrible coffee puns.
**You were warned.
1. Make Important Qualifiers Easy to Spot
Dualit made the claim that their coffee bag product was “compostable”, however the product was only industrially compostable. The coffee brand claimed that, due to space constraints, rather than making this clear in their on-line ad that the need for industrial composting was qualified on their website. Readers of DLA Piper’s updates will not find it surprising that the ASA did not find this to be sufficient. Brands should remember that, the more essential the qualifier: the more prominent it should be. Qualifiers don’t have to necessarily match the prominence of the main claim, but they should not be illegibly buried in fine print or tucked away in a footnote unless the claim is similarly non-prominent. As it was, Dualit made their “compostable” claim in a prominent heading, so the qualification should ideally have been in a subsequent sub-heading or clearly in following body text.
Tip: If the qualifier is crucial to understanding the claim, its prominence must be immediately clear to avoid misleading consumers. Asterisks against prominent claims may be used to justify less prominent qualifiers, but this will depend on the medium and overall impression of the ad as well as remembering that qualifiers should never contradict the original claim.
2. Footnotes Need to Be Readable
Footnotes can serve as valuable tools for adding qualifying context, but they must be legible and placed in an accessible location. Print ads can have more flexibility with footnote size, but on posters and digital formats where people may view ads at a distance, readability is key (and can be contrasted to a print ad where readers will have more opportunity to review the text up-close). If consumers can’t read your qualifications without squinting, the ASA may deem them not to count.
Tip: The ASA will assess whether footnotes are legible enough given the medium. If the medium limits how easily consumers can read the qualifications, then the qualifications might not be given the weight they deserve. So, make sure your footnotes or other qualifying text are readable depending on context.
3. Keep Significant Info in the Main Body of the Ad
If a qualifying statement is essential to understanding the full nature of a claim, it shouldn’t be buried under layers of small text or in links to external websites. Consumers shouldn’t have to take extra steps to get the full story. If you’re using a link to provide significant qualifying info, that could risk leaving a gap in the understanding of the claim.
Qualifying information should be included where it is material to the consumer understanding of the claim it is qualifying and/or the ad when taken as a whole. CAP guidance makes it clear that if a consumer might decide to purchase a product on the basis of an advertising claim (e.g. that this product is compostable and others aren’t), that this claim must be qualified appropriately to avoid it being misleading. However, such qualification must not contradict the main claim and be presented clearly with an appropriate level of prominence.
- sizing appropriate to the medium in which the ad appears;
- its positioning (vertical footnotes, for example, are less likely to be acceptable as they are more difficult to read than horizontal ones);
- the significance of the qualification;
- the content and layout of the ad (qualifications that are only viewable on a website or in an email by scrolling down, for instance, may not be sufficiently prominent to qualify a primary claim appearing at the top; and
- the prominence of the primary claim.
Such analysis must always be completed on a case-by-case basis. In a recent ASA ruling concerning dental floss, a qualifier which was small in comparison to the headline claim was found to be “easily missed or overlooked”. The ASA also found that the lack detail in the qualifier meant it was insufficient to clarify the impression given by the ambiguous nature of the headline claim.
Tip: The ASA expects that any information essential to understanding a claim should be included in the ad itself and not hidden behind links. If qualifying information is only available via an external site, it could be considered insufficient. Similarly, all material information should also be displayed before any “see more” option on social media captions and posts.
4. The ASA is Watching Green Claims Closely
Environmental claims are being closely scrutinized, particularly under the ASA’s “Climate Change and Environment” (CCE) project. They’re on the lookout for “greenwashing”—misleading claims about a product’s environmental credentials. Whether you’re making claims about sustainability, carbon offsets, or eco-friendly materials, the ASA expects these claims to be backed up with solid evidence and clearly qualified.
The project is ongoing and the regulator conducts:
- Sector-specific reviews, focusing on issues, common claims in and any recent developments in environmental impact;
- Research into consumer understanding of different types of environmental claims;
- Targeted investigations, to establish new precedent and take action against advertisers who use green claims in a way that is likely to mislead or cause harm;
- AI-based ‘Active Ad Monitoring’ which last year processed 28 million ads includes climate change and environmental claims as part of its ‘high-priority areas’ – prioritising reviewing ads linked to these area.
In the ASA’s Annual Report released 30 April 2025, they have made it clear that their work to ensure green claims are responsible will continue to be a focus area.
Tip: Under CAP (Committee of Advertising Practice) rules, any environmental claim must be truthful, substantiated, and not misleading. If there’s any risk of misleading consumers, especially about the environmental impact of a product, the ASA will intervene and is taking more proactive steps to catch-out non-compliant brands.
5. Use Qualifications Wisely
Qualification is not a bad thing. Graphic designers will always push for neat aesthetics, without extra wording or ‘small print’, however the Dualit ruling reiterates that advertisers will find themselves in hot water should they prioritise style over substance. It is arguable that if Dualit had properly qualified their environmental claims upfront in the ad, then they might have avoided the ASA’s ruling.
As it is, multiple UK news papers including the Independent and Guardian along with the BBC and Sky News have picked-up the ASA’s ruling garnering headlines about the ad being “banned”. All this means that consumers are now probably well aware that Dualit’s products are not environmentally “all they’re cracked-up to be”;. It’s reasonable that, should the brand have instead made a few qualifications in their ads, consumers (who, it is probably fair to say, are not as “well-informed, reasonably observant and circumspect” as the ASA believes them to be) might never have read the qualifying text, may still be under the belief that the product was generally compostable and Dualit’s name wouldn’t have appeared in headlines about their ad being banned. In evidence of consumer’s not being as observant as the ASA believes the average consumer to be: I cite the great chocolate made by Tony: do you know what it’s called? Tony’s Chocoloney, right? Well, maybe we’re all not as well-informed, reasonably observant and circumspect as we thought (I certainly wasn’t!).
Tip: If you’re unsure whether a qualification is necessary, it’s safer to include it. The ASA will look at whether the ad as a whole would mislead the average consumer, so it’s always better to over-qualify than risk under-qualification.
So, there you go: keep your claims clear, your qualifications visible, and your legal footnotes in check. By following these simple steps, you’ll avoid any bitter aftertaste from the ASA, keep your environmental claims hot, and stay on the right side of advertising law.