No more empty words in adverts

When words such as ‘sustainable’, ‘environmentally friendly’ and ‘ethical’ are used in advertising, they must be backed by some substance.

If such these terms cannot be substantiated, they are simply empty words that should be removed from advertisements.

This is the key message in the consumer watchdog’s updated guidelines aimed at weeding out misleading information in advertisements.

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If, for instance, a product is only partially made from renewable materials, it should be stated clearly that it is not made entirely from renewable materials.

If terms such as ‘sustainable’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ are used, the advertiser should be able to provide documented evidence of these claims, e.g. by linking to a website.

The watchdog mentions “We offer you a sustainable advantage” as an example phrase. Such a claim should be clarified either directly in the advert or by referring to documented evidence of this claim.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.