Future Retirement Success
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Investing
  • Stocks

Future Retirement Success

Business

Ads for two UK funeral firms banned over ‘misleading’ eco-friendly claims

by August 4, 2022
August 4, 2022
Ads for two UK funeral firms banned over ‘misleading’ eco-friendly claims

Adverts for two funeral providers have been banned after they misleadingly implied that their MDF coffins were more eco-friendly than other options.

Golden Leaves and JC Atkinson & Son advertised “environmentally friendly”, “eco-friendly” or “green” funerals including wooden or MDF coffins, with Golden Leaves adding: “Choosing an environmentally friendly funeral not only assists your loved ones, but also makes a positive statement of intent to help preserve the world in which we live.”

After selecting “eco” on the JC Atkinson & Son site, consumers saw a selection of coffins including the “Reflections catalogue”, which stated: “The eco-friendly Reflections range is for those wanting a truly personalised tribute.”

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and LifeArt Coffins challenged whether the eco-friendly claims were misleading and could be substantiated.

JC Atkinson & Son said it would remove the claims that its coffins were eco-friendly but said it believed they could be substantiated.

Golden Leaves said the claims that its coffins and also funerals were “green” or “eco-friendly” should be understood as part of its whole package offer of a funeral plan, which it had designed to promote an environmentally conscious message.

This included the promotional material itself, produced with water-based inks on recycled paper, the sustainable nature of the coffin types used and carbon offsetting strategies – for example, replacement tree planting and rainforest conservation donations.

In relation to JC Atkinson, the ASA said: “Because the evidence that had been provided to us did not demonstrate that there was no negative impact on the environment over the full lifecycle of the coffins, we concluded that the ad was misleading.”

Of Golden Leaves, it said: “Because we considered that consumers would understand the terms ‘green’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ in the context of the ad to be absolute claims about the whole lifecycle of the funeral, and because the evidence did not support that purchasing a funeral plan from Golden Leaves would have a net neutral or positive impact on the environment, we concluded that the claims had not been substantiated and were misleading.”

It added: “The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Golden Leaves not to state or imply that their products had a net neutral or positive environmental benefit unless they held substantiation that demonstrated this across their whole life cycle.

“We also told them to ensure that the basis for the environmental claims were made clear to consumers.”

Sign up to the daily Business Today email or follow Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk

A Golden Leaves spokesman said: “Golden Leaves had marketed environmentally friendly funeral plans, that helped you minimise the environmental impact of your funeral.

“The ASA deemed that consumers would believe that the plans would prevent or neutralise all environmental impacts of the funeral rather than just minimising it.

“Considering this finding (which Golden Leaves do not agree with) Golden Leaves have decided to remove this particular product range from circulation until further research on the particular matter in question can be conducted.”

Read more:
Ads for two UK funeral firms banned over ‘misleading’ eco-friendly claims

0
FacebookTwitterGoogle +Pinterest
previous post
Prepare for 15% inflation next year, Britain warned
next post
Bank of England raises base interest rate to 1.75%

You may also like

Investors rally behind chancellor Rachel Reeves’ growth agenda

July 7, 2024

Number of restaurants and food outlets entering liquidation...

November 8, 2022

Royal Mail Faces Legal Battle Over Gig Economy...

February 26, 2024

Government watchdog rules that sharing Netflix logins is...

December 22, 2022

Dark mode may sap more battery life if...

February 20, 2025

Meet the student entrepreneur revolutionising the creative content...

June 21, 2023

How to choose an SEO-friendly domain name

October 3, 2022

Longest-ever wait for payment for SMEs in retail...

April 11, 2023

Sir Charles Dunstone injects £65m to save TalkTalk...

August 13, 2024

Decline in cash use eases after pandemic slump

August 22, 2022

    Get free access to all of the retirement secrets and income strategies from our experts! or Join The Exclusive Subscription Today And Get the Premium Articles Acess for Free

    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Business leaders paralysed by risk warn BDO as caution stifles growth

      June 9, 2025
    • Starmer pledges £1bn investment to supercharge UK tech and AI infrastructure

      June 9, 2025
    • 5 terrifying flashpoints that could ignite global war

      June 9, 2025
    • HMRC inheritance tax investigations surge 37% as treasury seeks to plug revenue gap

      June 9, 2025
    • Believ secures £300m to roll out 30,000 public EV charge points across the UK

      June 9, 2025
    • US and China hold London talks to ease trade war tensions

      June 9, 2025

    Categories

    • Business (8,160)
    • Investing (2,019)
    • Politics (15,572)
    • Stocks (3,136)
    • About us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Disclaimer: futureretirementsuccess.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

    Copyright © 2025 futureretirementsuccess.com | All Rights Reserved