ELFBAR recycling ad banned by ASA after complaints from Imperial Tobacco and others; company says it

  ELFBAR's e-cigarette recycling advertisement in the UK has been criticized as misleading by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) following complaints from Imperial Tobacco and other companies, and has been banned. In response, ELFBAR stated that they respect the ASA's decision and have taken measures to ensure stricter self-regulation in their advertising and marketing.

According to reports from several UK media outlets, ELFBAR's e-cigarette recycling advertisement was deemed misleading by the ASA.

Reports indicate that ELFBAR's e-cigarette recycling advertisement posters were displayed on buses and digital billboards, featuring messages like "Recycle for a Greener Future," "Green Awareness," and recycling symbols.

  An ELFBAR advertisement on a London bus reads, "Recycle, Create a Greener Future," accompanied by a recycling symbol. Source: ASA/PA

Several companies, including Imperial Tobacco, lodged complaints with the ASA regarding this advertisement, pointing out that recycling disposable e-cigarettes is not easy.
 

After ruling, the ASA found that these advertisements gave an inaccurate impression of environmental benefits and their limited recycling options, leading to the ban of the related promotional posters.

ELFBAR explained to the ASA that over 70% of people discard disposable e-cigarettes because they are unaware that they are recyclable. They emphasized that the purpose of the advertisement was to encourage consumers to actively participate in recycling and clearly denied making any claims about the environmental impact or benefits of their products.

At the time the advertisement was visible, ELFBAR had 70 e-cigarette stores in the UK, each equipped with ELFBAR recycling bins. The company added that the recycling process is carried out in collaboration with a specialized lithium-ion battery and e-cigarette recycling company, which delivers the products to a properly certified recycling organization in the UK for disassembly and reuse of materials.

  Recycling devices placed in-store | Source: Two Supremes

ELFBAR stated that while raising consumer awareness about recycling is not a legal obligation, the company chose to make the necessary investments. However, the ASA concluded that these advertisements misled people into believing that ELFBAR products were "widely recyclable," when in fact they could only be recycled through designated ELFBAR recycling bins.

The regulatory body noted that consumers should understand that the recycling options for disposable e-cigarettes are limited, and some may not be easily accessible. The ASA stated: "We acknowledge that ELFBAR's intention is to educate and encourage consumers to recycle through advertising, and that they will take measures to increase consumer recycling capabilities. However, because consumers would understand from the advertisement that they would be able to recycle ELFBAR's disposable e-cigarettes through various means, including easily accessible options like household recycling facilities, which is not the case, we concluded that these advertisements were misleading."

The ASA also stated that they had not seen evidence that ELFBAR's recyclable e-cigarettes had a smaller environmental impact compared to other e-cigarette products, concluding that the claim of "for a greener future" could mislead consumers. Ultimately, the ASA ruled that these advertisements must not appear again and added: "We advised ELFBAR to ensure that future advertisements clearly state the basis of environmental claims and do not mislead regarding the environmental impact or benefits of their products."

In response to this incident, Two Supremes inquired with ELFBAR, to which they responded as follows:
 

We respect the Advertising Standards Authority's (ASA) decision and have taken measures to ensure stricter self-regulation in our advertising and marketing.

 

We are disappointed that this advertisement may have caused any confusion. Additionally, we regret that this advertisement did not fully showcase our recycling program. This is a genuine and important initiative aimed at making it easier for adults to responsibly dispose of disposable e-cigarettes.

 

As part of an ongoing project, we have made our products easier to recycle and disassemble for recycling, and we plan to establish a closed-loop recycling system by 2025. We are committed to these measures and will comply with the guidelines set by the ASA.   #p#分页标题#e#