Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · United Kingdom · 2022

UK Advertising Standards Authority upholds complaint about Unilever Persil "kinder to our planet" television advertisement (31 August 2022)

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
Things were done in my name here. No one has measured what reached me.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
In my name
  • Advertising Standards Authority (UK) found that a claim made in my name was misleading. The claim was: “TOUGH ON STAINS, KINDER TO OUR PLANET” Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 1 not measured See the gaps

On 31 August 2022 the UK Advertising Standards Authority ruled that a Persil television advertisement with the on-screen text "TOUGH ON STAINS, KINDER TO OUR PLANET" was likely to mislead, because Unilever held no evidence of the products' full life-cycle environmental impact compared with earlier formulations or other products.

Ad must not appear againUK ASA ruling on Unilever Persil
Ruling of 31 August 2022, complaint reference A22-1150985. The ruling page records no fine.

Status As of October 2026: the ASA ruled on 31 August 2022 that the Persil ad was likely to mislead and must not appear again in its current form; the ruling page records no fine.

What?
The ASA upheld a complaint about a Unilever Persil television ad claiming the product was "kinder to our planet". Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
Where?
United Kingdom (advertising regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority). Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
When?
Ruling of 31 August 2022; ad seen 31 March 2022. Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The basis of the comparison was unclear and there was no evidence that the full life cycle of the product had a lesser environmental impact than a previous formulation or other products. Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
How?
A ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority under the BCAP Code; the ad must not appear again in its current form. No fine is recorded. Advertising Standards Authority (UK)
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who

What happened

The record, in order.

On 31 August 2022 the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled on a Persil washing liquid television ad seen on 31 March 2022 (complaint reference A22-1150985; one complaint). It showed litter on a beach and children collecting plastic, said the liquids remove stains in cold, quick washes and that the bottles contain 50% recycled plastic, and ended with the on-screen text "TOUGH ON STAINS, KINDER TO OUR PLANET".

The ASA found that the basis of the comparative claim "kinder" was ambiguous (previous Persil products or competitors) and that, "in the absence of evidence demonstrating that the full life cycle of the product had a lesser environmental impact compared to a previous formulation", it "was likely to mislead" (BCAP Code rules 3.1, 3.9, 9.2, 9.4, 9.5).

The ruling states: "The ad must not appear again in its current form." Unilever UK Ltd t/a Persil was told to ensure that the basis of environmental claims was clear in future ads and that such claims were based on the full lifecycle of the products, unless stated otherwise.

  1. 2022ASA rules on Persil "kinder to our planet" TV ad (A22-1150985): no full life-cycle evidence; likely to mislead; ad must not appear again in its current form (31 August)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“we concluded the ad was likely to mislead”

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • A television ad for Persil washing liquid with beach-litter imagery, the claims of cold, quick washes and 50% recycled plastic bottles, and the text "TOUGH ON STAINS, KINDER TO OUR PLANET".
    Unilever · Advertising Standards Authority (UK)

Recorded

  • The ASA upheld the complaint: the basis of the "kinder" comparison was unclear and Unilever held no evidence of lower full life-cycle environmental impact; the ad was likely to mislead (A22-1150985).
    Advertising Standards Authority (UK)

In nature's name

What was promised in nature's name, the money that moved, and what was measured.

Promised

  • “TOUGH ON STAINS, KINDER TO OUR PLANET” — Unilever, Persil television ad, closing on-screen text (as recorded in the ASA ruling) (Seen 31 March 2022) Advertising Standards Authority (UK)

What was measured

Not measured

The case concerns an advertising claim. The ASA ruling records no independent measurement of any benefit to nature from the advertised product or business.

Findings on record

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2022-08-31Claimant won
    ASA ruling on Unilever Persil "kinder to our planet" advertisement
    Advertising Standards Authority (UK) · Regulatory · One complainant (not named) → Unilever UK Ltd t/a Persil

    Upheld: in the absence of evidence of lower full life-cycle environmental impact, the claim "kinder to our planet" was likely to mislead. The ad must not appear again in its current form. Reference A22-1150985. Advertising Standards Authority (UK)

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

Record

  • None on record The ruling page records no fine and does not state whether any appeal followed.

Did the harm stop?

The ASA required that the ad must not appear again in its current form. The ruling page does not state whether any environmental measure was affected.

Who paid?

The ruling page records no fine or payment.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

Government and regulators

  1. ASA Ruling on Unilever UK Ltd
    Advertising Standards Authority (UK) · 2022-08-31

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Similar cases
Law, regulation and treaties · Green claim · Denmark · 2020–2024
Danish courts find Danish Crown's "Klimakontrolleret gris" label breached the Marketing Practices Act (2024)
Same type: Law, regulation and treaties, Green claimSame regionCourt: won by claimant
Law, regulation and treaties · Green claim · Biodiversity offset / offset credit · Sweden · 2019–2023
Swedish court bans Arla's "netto noll klimatavtryck" claim for organic dairy products (2023)
Same type: Law, regulation and treaties, Green claimCourt: won by claimantHarm to nature not measured
Law, regulation and treaties · Green claim · Italy · 2021–2022
Gorizia court grants Alcantara an interim injunction against Miko's "100% recyclable" and "eco-friendly" claims for Dinamica microfibre (2021); Miko says the order was later revoked
Same type: Law, regulation and treaties, Green claimCourt: won by claimantHarm to nature not measured
Killings and repression of defenders · Oil, gas and coal operations · Law, regulation and treaties · Russia · 2012–2023
Arctic Sunrise seizure at the Prirazlomnaya platform: ITLOS bond, PCA arbitration, 2019 settlement and ECtHR judgment
Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesSame regionCourt: won by claimant
Law, regulation and treaties · Finance, funds and markets · Russia · 2022–2026
FSC suspension of Russia and Belarus and birch plywood sanctions cases in the EU
Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesSame regionCourt: won by claimant
Law, regulation and treaties · Ukraine · 2015–2026
Ukraine's ban on raw-log exports and the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement arbitration, 2015–2026
Same type: Law, regulation and treatiesSame regionCourt: won by claimant