Background
Summary of Council decision:
Four issues were investigated, of which three were Upheld and one was Not upheld.
Ad description
A TV ad for Aqua Pura, seen in August 2021, featured people drinking from bottles of Aqua Pura whilst enjoying time outdoors in nature. A voice-over said, “In Cumbria there’s more to water. From clouds up high, down hill and fell and mountainside. Flowing deep for years. Nature purifies on its journey to finding you. Bottle it up, guzzle it down, bathe the hills and quench the towns. For this is aqua. Nothing purer, it’s nature friendly we assure you. Crush it down, take it back, we’ll make plenty more with that. So take a sip of Cumbria. Go out, go far, go live. Aqua Pura. Hydration for the nation.” The ad ended with two bottles of Aqua Pura on a rock with a backdrop of a lake and rolling green hills, the Aqua Pura logo and text that said “Hydration for the Nation” and “100% recycled & recyclable bottle with eco-friendly cap*”. The asterisk linked to text on screen that said “*relates to 500ml bottles only”.
Issue
Three complainants challenged whether the following claims were misleading and could be substantiated:
1. “100% recycled … bottle”;
2. “100% … recyclable bottle”;
3. “eco-friendly cap”; and
4. “it’s nature friendly”.
Response
1. & 2. Roxane UK Ltd t/a Aqua Pura (Roxane) said the 500 ml still water bottle was made from 100% ‘Terrachim’, a recycled plastic. They had their own recycling plant where recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic was made and this was used to make 100% of the plastic in the 500ml sparkling water bottle. They provided reports that they said demonstrated this. The cap was made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic and the label was made from polypropylene (PP). They also confirmed that all components of the bottles were recyclable, and provided documentation in support.
They said the ad made clear that it was only the bottle itself that was 100% recycled and recyclable. In their opinion, consumers would understand that the claim related only to the bottle itself and not to the cap and label.
Clearcast said the ad made clear that it, and all the claims in the ad, related only to Aqua Pura’s 500 ml still and sparkling water products, rather than relating to the Aqua Pura brand more generally. The language used, together with visuals that showed the 500 ml bottles only, and on-screen text that said “*relates to 500ml bottle only”, made clear that the claims were only about the products shown in the ad.
They provided a report from a recycling certification company, which confirmed that the bottles, along with their label and cap, were successfully processed at a recycling facility.
3. Roxane defined “eco-friendly” as “not harmful to the environment”. They said the cap met this definition because it was 100% recyclable and remained attached to the bottle so would not be lost in the environment where it could cause harm to wildlife.
Clearcast said the “eco-friendly cap” was available on the 500 ml still and sparkling bottles only. As referenced above they believed viewers would understand from the ad that the claim related specifically to the 500 ml products shown in the ad.
They said the eco-friendly cap was produced with less plastic than other bottle cap designs. The “eco-friendly cap” was a ‘flip to open, snap to close’ cap that remained attached to the bottle. Because it remained attached to the bottle it would not get lost in nature and therefore helped protect birds and wildlife that were unable to distinguish bottle caps from food. They provided the bottle label which explained the purpose of the eco-friendly cap.
4. Roxane defined “nature friendly” as a “sustainability and marketing term referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that claim reduced, minimal, or no harm upon ecosystems or the environment”. They said the advertised products were not harmful to the environment because all elements were 100% recyclable, and they were protecting wildlife with their attached cap.
Clearcast said Aqua Pura had reduced the amount of plastic used in the 500 ml bottles and caps compared to previous ones. In their opinion, because the cap was attached to the bottle and would not be lost in nature, the bottle was made from 100% recycled material, and the bottle, cap and label were 100% recyclable, the claim “nature friendly” was not misleading.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The ad ended with on-screen text that stated “100% recycled & recyclable bottle with eco-friendly cap*” alongside two bottles, including the cap and label, of Aqua Pura water. The ASA considered consumers would understand the first part of the claim, “100% recycled & recyclable bottle”, to mean that all components of the bottle, i.e. the bottle, cap and label, had been made using 100% recycled materials and could all be recycled. We considered that the continuation of the claim with the phrasing “... with eco-friendly cap*” was ambiguous in its meaning. We considered it might be understood by some viewers to distinguish the cap from the rest of the bottle and therefore that it was excluded from the “100% recycled & recyclable” claim. However, we considered that most would understand from the claim in its entirety that the cap was 100% recycled and recyclable, and that there was an additional environmental benefit provided by the cap (discussed at Point 3 below).
We noted that the ad only included shots of 500 ml bottles of Aqua Pura, and that the qualifying text “*relates to 500ml bottles only” was included at the end, which was linked by asterisk to the claim “100% recycled & recyclable bottle with eco-friendly cap*”. We considered that consumers would understand that qualifying text to mean that only 500 ml bottles of Aqua Pura were 100% recycled and recyclable, and came with the “eco-friendly” cap.
We therefore expected to see evidence that all components of the 500 ml bottles were made from 100% recycled material.
We understood from the reports provided that Aqua Pura 500 ml still and sparkling water bottles were made from 100% recycled PET. However, we understood that the cap and label were not made from recycled material. Because viewers would understand the claim to mean that all elements of the bottle were made entirely from recycled materials and that was not the case, we concluded the claim “100% recycled … bottle” had not been substantiated and was therefore misleading.
On that point, the ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Substantiation) and 9.2, 9.3, 9.4 and 9.5 (Environmental claims).
2. Not upheld
As referenced above, we considered consumers would understand from the claim “100% recycled & recyclable bottle with eco-friendly cap*” and the qualification “*relates to 500ml bottles only” that the 500 ml bottle, label and cap were made from 100% recycled material and could be recycled. We therefore expected to see evidence that all components of the 500 ml bottles could be recycled.
We understood from the recycling certification report and additional documentation that Aqua Pura 500 ml still and sparkling water bottles along with their cap and label were processed into the clear plastic stream during the recyclability testing. During the recycling process, the cap and label were separated from the bottle and sent for further recycling. The bottles would be sent to a processor to be made into PET flakes or pellets. We therefore understood all the components of the bottle were recyclable.
Because viewers would understand the claim to mean that all components of the bottle were recyclable, and we had seen evidence that was the case, we concluded the claim “100% … recyclable bottle” was substantiated and was not misleading.
On that point, we investigated the ad under BCAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Substantiation) and 9.2, 9.3, 9.4 and 9.5 (Environmental claims), but did not find it in breach.
3. Upheld
The BCAP Code required that the basis of environmental claims must be clear. It required that absolute claims must be supported by a high level of substantiation, but that claims such as “friendlier” could be justified if the advertised product or service provided a total environmental benefit over that of the advertiser’s previous product or service or competitor products or services and the basis of the comparison was clear. It also said that claims must be based on the full life cycle of the advertised product, unless the ad stated otherwise.
We considered viewers would understand the claim “eco-friendly cap” to mean the cap was not harmful to the environment in any way, throughout the full life cycle of the product. For the same reason as referenced at Point 1, we considered it was clear that the claim related only to the caps on Aqua Pura 500ml bottles.
We considered the claim “eco-friendly cap” was an absolute claim. We therefore expected to see evidence that demonstrated the cap was not harmful to the environment at any point during its full life cycle. However, we had not seen such evidence.
We acknowledged that the lid was designed so that it remained attached to the bottle and that, as a result, it was less likely to be lost in nature where it could be confused for food by birds and other wildlife. We also acknowledged that, for that reason, the cap may have been friendlier to the environment than other types of single-use plastic bottle caps. However, the cap was made from (non-recycled) plastic. We considered that the extraction of raw materials and subsequent processing of those materials in order to produce the plastic for the cap had a negative impact on the environment.
Because we had not seen evidence for the full life cycle of the cap and because the cap was made from a material that was inherently harmful to the environment, we considered the claim “eco-friendly cap” overstated the environmental benefit of the cap and was therefore misleading.
On that point, the ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Substantiation) and 9.2, 9.3, 9.4 and 9.5 (Environmental claims).
4. Upheld
The ad featured scenes of people drinking from bottles of Aqua Pura water whilst enjoying time outdoors in nature. At the same time a voice-over described the journey through nature that Aqua Pura water made and said, “… it’s nature friendly we assure you”. In that context we considered consumers would understand the claim “it’s nature friendly” to mean that the Aqua Pura brand as well as the advertised products were good for the environment. We considered this was also an absolute claim. We therefore expected to see evidence that demonstrated that the Aqua Pura brand and full life cycle of the products had a positive impact on the environment.
We acknowledged that the plastic used in the bottles was made from 100% recycled PET, all components of the bottles were recyclable, and the bottles had an attached cap which reduced its chance of being littered. We understood that the bottles may therefore be less harmful to the environment than other single-use plastic bottles. We also noted that a scene in the ad showed a woman crushing an empty bottle after she had finished drinking from it, accompanied by the voice-over, “Crush it down, take it back, we’ll make plenty more with that”. We considered that this encouraged consumers to not litter their bottles, and instead, implied they should take them home where they could then be recycled.
However, we understood that not all parts of the bottles were made from recycled plastic - the cap and label were made from “new” plastic. For the same reasons as referenced at Point 3, we considered that they would therefore have a negative impact on the environment.
Because we had not seen evidence that demonstrated the Aqua Pura brand had a positive impact on the environment, nor had we seen evidence for the full life cycle of the products, and because parts of the products were made from a material that was inherently harmful to the environment, we considered the claim “nature friendly” overstated the environmental benefit of the brand and products and was therefore misleading.
On that point, the ad breached BCAP Code rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.9 (Substantiation) and 9.2, 9.3, 9.4 and 9.5 (Environmental claims).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained about. We told Roxane UK Ltd t/a Aqua Pura not to use the claim “100% recycled bottle” unless all the components of the bottle were recycled. We also told them to ensure they did not overstate the environmental benefit of their brand and products, and did not claim that products made of plastic were “eco-friendly” or “nature friendly”.
