TV advert for drinks giant Innocent gets banned over misleading 'greenwashing' claims 

A TV advert for drinks giant Innocent was yesterday banned for making misleading ‘greenwashing’ claims.

The animated ad featured a song and imagery highlighting how the planet is being destroyed by pollution, litter and dirty rivers.

It also suggested people were putting themselves at risk by eating poor quality food.

The ad showed the alternative as adopting a greener life, planting trees and being kind to our bodies ‘with nature’s tasty food’.

It included images of fruit being squeezed into an Innocent bottle. However, it drew complaints from campaign group Plastics Rebellion and more than 20 consumers. 

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled against the commercial which means it is now banned.

A TV ad for drinks giant Innocent was yesterday banned for making misleading ‘greenwashing’ claims by implying choosing to drink their drink products was good for the environment

Greenwashing refers to a firm trying to make consumers believe it is doing more for the environment than it really is.

The ASA said advertisers must make clear that any environmental claims are backed up. It noted that Innocent has single-use plastic in its bottles which risks causing harm to the environment.

It stressed: ‘Because the ads implied that purchasing Innocent products was a choice which would have a positive environmental impact when that was not the case we concluded that the ads were misleading.’

The ASA said Innocent bottles ‘included non-recycled plastic’ and there was a ‘negative impact on the environment’.

It said the point of the commercial was to ‘invite consumers to join in on its journey of working towards a healthier planet’.

The smoothie maker insisted the ad sought to encourage recycling. It aims to recycle 70 per cent of bottles by 2023.