Primark makes misleading sustainability claims on its instore posters. According to the Board of Appeal (BoA) of the Dutch Advertising Code Authority, the claims give the impression that Primark is currently meeting the claimed sustainability standards, when in reality the claims concern far away ambitions (in 2030). Primark makes the claims on large instore posters. The (very) small disclaimers and QR codes on the bottom of the posters do not eliminate this misleading impression. Moreover, Primark has no concrete plans to achieve the stated ambitions.

Sustainable fashion activist Sara Dubbeldam filed a complaint against Primark's sustainability claims, including inter alia  “Reduce CO2 emissions by 50%. So that the planet can breathe freely” and “Organic, recycled, sustainable and affordable cotton” (translated). The claims itself are printed in a large font on large instore posters. Each poster has a small QR code at the bottom left (referring to the Primark Cares webpage) and a further disclaimer in (very) small print, such as "By 2030, we will cut CO2 emissions by half across our entire value chain" and "By 2027, all the cotton in our clothing will be organic, recycled or sourced from our cotton sustainability programme" (translated). 

According to the BoA, in line with the Committee's previous ruling, the claims are misleading and in breach of the Code for Environmental Advertising. The BoA considers that the claims wrongly convey the impression that the claims describe the current situation rather than far away ambitions. The disclaimers on the posters are so small to read (in comparison to the claims in large font) that consumers are likely to overlook them. In addition, Primark has not demonstrated that it can be reasonably assumed that the advertised ambitions will be achieved within the stated timeframes. The BoA also rules in this context that some sustainability ambitions lack a concrete action plan. 

Tip: It is allowed to claim a sustainability ambition, but you have to be very clear that it is indeed (just) an ambition (and not the current situation) and you must have a concrete and achievable action plan to reach this ambition.