ESG Enforcement Tracker

Key facts:

The ASA ruled that a paid Google ad for Lacoste, seen on 24 June 2025, breached the CAP Code after finding that its environmental claim was misleading. The ad, which promoted “Lacoste Kids – Sustainable […] clothing”, was identified through the ASA’s new Active Ad Monitoring system, which uses AI to proactively monitor advertising in specific sectors.

Lacoste said it had been working for several years to reduce the carbon footprint of its product value chain by using certified raw materials, extending product lifespans, reducing water use, preserving biodiversity, and reintegrating textile waste into production. Since 2022, Lacoste said it had focused on improving the sustainability of its Lacoste Kids range by using certified fabrics, including GOTS cotton, GRS polyamide and polyester, and RWS wool. Lacoste explained that the ad likely linked to the children’s category page on its website and that its claims were based on life cycle analyses of products in the Lacoste Kids collection. The ad was removed as soon as the complaint was received.

The ASA noted that the CAP Code requires environmental claims to be clear, unambiguous, and supported by a high level of substantiation where claims are absolute. The ad did not explain what was meant by “sustainable clothing” or include any qualifying information. Without qualification, the ASA considered the claim to be ambiguous and likely to be interpreted by consumers that all Lacoste Kids clothing had no detrimental impact on the environment across its entire life cycle.

Although Lacoste demonstrated an overall reduction in the environmental footprint of its Spring Summer 2025 Kids collection compared to its 2022 collection, they had not provided evidence to demonstrate that their products had no detrimental effect on the environment. As the basis and meaning of the claim had not been made clear and sufficient evidence had not been provided, the ASA concluded that the ad was likely to mislead and breached the CAP Code.