The advert was seen in London during the summer and held the slogan “Recycling for Greener Future Green Awareness” which complainants, including Imperial Tobacco and Adfree cities, argued was misleading as it didn’t make clear that there were only limited recycling options for the product.
According to the complainants the advert was also misleading as it misled consumers into the environmental benefit the products offer. The advert was also challenged on the grounds it “highlighted an environmental benefit that resulted from a legal obligation to which competing products were also subject.”
Adfree Cities was 1 of 10 complainants who challenged the ad for its claim that Elf Bar was “recycling for a greener future”. Disposable vapes are a major source of plastic pollution and the vast majority are not recycled. https://t.co/noaAj74WGZ
— Adfree Cities (@adfreecities) November 29, 2023
Interpret
Elfbar argued that according to research by not-for-profit organisation Material Focus, 70% of consumers throw away single-use and disposal vapes because they’re unaware vapes are recyclable.
The vape manufacturing company said it didn’t think consumers would interpret the ads as implying that vapes were easily recyclable, either fully or partially, through household waste or standard recycling processes. While the recycling symbol suggested an item’s potential for recycling, it didn’t guarantee acceptance in all recycling systems or imply prior recycling. Acknowledging this, Elfbar acknowledged the need for clearer details on vape recycling methods and their specific initiatives.
The ASA heard that Elfbar was aiming for a closed-loop recycling system by 2025 and focused on a developing a reusable design with the Elfbar 600V2. According to Elfbar the 600V2’s modular, non-soldering design enables easier battery separation and recycling, with a 41%-unit reuse rate and an ongoing effort to surpass a 99% recycling and reuse rate.
The company says around 90-95% of the product can be recycled, excluding the separately treated cartridge.
Elfbar claimed it provided detailed recycling information on their site, linking to Material Focus for drop-off locations and developing a dedicated platform for GreenAwareness and recycling locations. The company highlighted that less than 2% of their products end up in landfills.
Misleading
However, ASA upheld the complaints against Elfbar’s advertisements and ordered them not to be shown agead.
The ASA said the decision was made “due to their misleading nature concerning the recyclability of their single-use vapes”. Despite emphasising its slogans of “recycling for a greener future” and “GreenAwareness,” the ads led consumers to believe that Elfbar’s single-use vapes could be widely recycled through accessible routes, like home recycling provisions, which wasn’t the case.
The ASA found that the ads were misleading as they implied complete recyclability and a wider availability of recycling routes than actually existed for single-use vapes, contributing to breaches of several advertising rules, including misrepresentation of environmental claims.
Additionally, the ASA noted that while Elfbar’s vapes had certain recyclable components, the claim “for a greener future” implied a reduced environmental impact compared to other products on the market, which lacked substantiation. The ads did not sufficiently prove that Elfbar’s vapes had a lesser environmental impact than competitors, especially considering the volume of single-use vapes being disposed of without proper recycling, contributing significantly to landfill or incineration.
The ASA also highlighted that although Elfbar took initiatives to increase consumer awareness and improve recyclability, these efforts were not unique or beyond what their competitors were obliged to do under the WEEE Regulations.
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