SINGAPORE: An advertisement posted on the Instagram account of electronic retailer PRISM+ was taken down after Singapore's advertising standards watchdog deemed some of the claims made in it to be "not acceptable".
The ad for PRISM+'s Zero Smart air-conditioner featured social media personality Xiaxue, whose real name is Wendy Cheng.
The ad claimed that using PRISM+'s air-con model was the "best tip" to "save Earth", which Xiaxue appeared to do so by setting the temperature to 23 degrees Celsius, the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) said in response to CNA's queries on Friday (Dec 15).
The ASAS council "is of the position that these are not acceptable ... to communicate that the product brings about energy savings, irrespective of whether they can be demonstrated, in view of the energy such appliances consume".
Under the fifth general principle of the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (SCAP), advertisements should not mislead in any way by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or other means. They should also not misrepresent any matter likely to influence consumers' attitudes.
When asked if this incident was the first time an advertising campaign was nixed over greenwashing claims in Singapore or Asia, ASAS said that it "had received one other piece of feedback about greenwashing since 2020, and that was not found to have breached the SCAP".
PRISM+ was informed of the council's decision and was asked to either amend or remove their ad. The company opted to remove the Instagram post in question, said ASAS.
A check by CNA on Friday showed that the post was unavailable.
"ASAS’s decisions are specific to the statements or depictions in the advertisements that are reviewed and their contexts, and advertisers are asked to amend their advertisements or cease them, so that they do not appear in their offending form."
PRISM+ was also reminded by ASAS that any energy savings claims should be substantiated via tests on the Zero Smart air-conditioner and comparable models conducted by independent parties in conditions applicable to Singapore's context.
CNA has contacted PRISM+ for more information.
Greenwashing is the act of making false or misleading claims about the environmental merits of a product, service or technology.
The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act protects consumers against false or misleading claims, including those related to greenwashing.
In March 2023, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan said in Parliament that the Consumers Association of Singapore and the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) had not received any specific complaints about greenwashing.
The CCCS and National University of Singapore Business School in November published a study on greenwashing in marketing claims.
It found that more than half of online product claims were "vague with insufficient elaboration or details to support the claims".
CCCS said that it was developing a set of guidelines to address greenwashing conduct by suppliers.
Continue reading...
The ad for PRISM+'s Zero Smart air-conditioner featured social media personality Xiaxue, whose real name is Wendy Cheng.
The ad claimed that using PRISM+'s air-con model was the "best tip" to "save Earth", which Xiaxue appeared to do so by setting the temperature to 23 degrees Celsius, the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS) said in response to CNA's queries on Friday (Dec 15).
The ASAS council "is of the position that these are not acceptable ... to communicate that the product brings about energy savings, irrespective of whether they can be demonstrated, in view of the energy such appliances consume".
Under the fifth general principle of the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice (SCAP), advertisements should not mislead in any way by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or other means. They should also not misrepresent any matter likely to influence consumers' attitudes.
When asked if this incident was the first time an advertising campaign was nixed over greenwashing claims in Singapore or Asia, ASAS said that it "had received one other piece of feedback about greenwashing since 2020, and that was not found to have breached the SCAP".
PRISM+ was informed of the council's decision and was asked to either amend or remove their ad. The company opted to remove the Instagram post in question, said ASAS.
A check by CNA on Friday showed that the post was unavailable.
"ASAS’s decisions are specific to the statements or depictions in the advertisements that are reviewed and their contexts, and advertisers are asked to amend their advertisements or cease them, so that they do not appear in their offending form."
PRISM+ was also reminded by ASAS that any energy savings claims should be substantiated via tests on the Zero Smart air-conditioner and comparable models conducted by independent parties in conditions applicable to Singapore's context.
CNA has contacted PRISM+ for more information.
Related:
WHAT IS GREENWASHING?
Greenwashing is the act of making false or misleading claims about the environmental merits of a product, service or technology.
The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act protects consumers against false or misleading claims, including those related to greenwashing.
In March 2023, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan said in Parliament that the Consumers Association of Singapore and the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) had not received any specific complaints about greenwashing.
The CCCS and National University of Singapore Business School in November published a study on greenwashing in marketing claims.
It found that more than half of online product claims were "vague with insufficient elaboration or details to support the claims".
CCCS said that it was developing a set of guidelines to address greenwashing conduct by suppliers.
Continue reading...