ASA ruling on fashion retailer

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that a paid-for Google ad for Calvin Klein was likely to mislead consumers, as it included claims that were not substantiated. The ad featured the text, “Calvin Klein tops for women. Responsibly sourced collections – Recycled, Organic & More”.

In their response, Calvin Klein stated that they believed consumers would understand that Calvin Klein’s women’s tops range comprised various styles, some of which might be made of a combination of environmentally preferred materials, including recycled and organic fibres which were two examples, and at the date of the ad, a significant proportion of the women’s tops range incorporated some form of third-party certified material, namely a recycled, organic and/or otherwise certified material.

ASA considered that consumers would understand the claim to mean that Calvin Klein sold women’s tops, some of which were part of “Responsibly sourced” collections, due to them being made from recycled, organic or other environmentally preferred materials. It was also concluded that the claim had not been substantiated as, although some products were made from organic materials no tops were made entirely from recycled materials, therefore the advertisement was likely to mislead.