B&TB&TB&T
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Search
Trending topics:
  • Cairns Crocodiles
  • Nine
  • Seven
  • Federal Election
  • Pinterest
  • AFL
  • AI
  • News Corp
  • Married At First Sight
  • NRL
  • Cairns Hatchlings
  • Channel 10
  • Anthony Albanese
  • oOh!Media
  • WPP
  • Thinkerbell
  • Special
  • TV Ratings
  • Radio Ratings
  • Sports Marketing

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
Reading: Eco-Activists Accuse UK Drinks Brand Of “Greenwashing” Their Ads
Share
B&TB&T
Subscribe
Search
  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Technology
  • Regulars
    • Agency Scorecards
    • Best of the Best
    • Campaigns of the Month
    • CMO Power List
    • CMOs to Watch
    • Culture Bites
    • Fast 10
    • New Business Winners
    • Spotlight on Sponsors
  • Jobs
  • Awards
    • 30 Under 30
    • B&T Awards
    • Cairns Crocodiles
    • Women In Media
    • Women Leading Tech
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.
B&T > Advertising > Eco-Activists Accuse UK Drinks Brand Of “Greenwashing” Their Ads
AdvertisingMedia

Eco-Activists Accuse UK Drinks Brand Of “Greenwashing” Their Ads

Staff Writers
Published on: 3rd February 2022 at 10:53 AM
Staff Writers
Share
3 Min Read
SHARE

UK drinks brand, Innocent, has been called out by an environmental activist group for “greenwashing” in its advertisements, which claim their drinks can help bolster sustainability.

According to The Guardian, Extinction Rebellion’s sister organisation, Plastics Rebellion (PR), recently lodged a complaint with the UK-based Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regarding Innocent’s ‘Little Drinks, Big Dreams’ ad campaign.

The ad uses twee animation, gentle music, and cutesy characters to suggest the brand can help save the planet with their fruit and vegetable drinks.

“Reduce, reuse, recycle, ‘cause there is no planet B! If we’re looking after nature, she’ll be looking after me!” The characters sing, while squeezing juice directly from an apple into a bottle, and busying themselves to live in harmony with Gaia.

https://twitter.com/innocent/status/1394929819490689025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1394929819490689025%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.independent.co.uk%2Fclimate-change%2Fnews%2Finnocent-smoothie-greenwashing-advert-watchdog-b2006178.html

“Greenwashing is dangerous – in the case of Innocent it’s one thing to hide your ecocidal practices, that’s bad enough, but to go to the next level and pretend you’re ‘fixing up the planet’ is far worse,” PR’s Matt Palmer told The Guardian.

“It means that people will willingly – and unwittingly – opt in to support your project in the belief that they are doing good for the planet.”

Coined by environmentalist, Jay Westerveld in 1986, ‘greenwashing’ refers to a business or organisation marketing themselves as being eco-friendly, despite not putting in the work to minimise their environmental impact.

While the ASA is yet to make ruling on PR’s submission, the latter did take to social media to respond to its recent actions, tweeting, “We are still waiting to see what happens when five pieces of fruit take on an evil corporation”.

We are still waiting to see what happens when five pieces of fruit take on an evil corporation …🍎🍉 @ExtinctionR @xr_rebelradio @spandexia @pullenstribe https://t.co/zI7PgcuniS

— Truth About Plastic (@PlasticsCrisis) February 2, 2022

This is not the first time Innocent – which is owned by Coca-Cola – and PR have butted heads.

Last year, activists occupied Innocent’s West London headquarters, demanding the company pull its ‘Little drinks, big dreams’ advert and apologise for using the visuals to “mislead the public” into thinking buying their drinks will help fix the planet.

PR also accused the drinks manufacturer of producing up to 32,000 plastic bottles a day from its new Rotterdam factory.

An Innocent spokesperson responded to the demonstrations, saying the company was “constantly striving” to reduce its environmental impact,

According to Innocent’s ‘Our Sustainability Promise’ video, the company plans to cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent in the next two years, remove 2500 tonnes of plastic, and ensure their ingredients are 100 per cent sustainably sourced.

Innocent are yet to respond to the ASA submission.

 

 

 

 

Join more than 30,000 advertising industry experts
Get all the latest advertising and media news direct to your inbox from B&T.

No related posts.

TAGGED: greenwashing
Share
Staff Writers
By Staff Writers
Follow:
Staff Writers represent B&T's team of award-winning reporters. Here, you'll find articles crafted with industry experience spanning over 50 years. Our team of specialists brings together a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to delivering insightful, topical, and breaking news. With a deep understanding of advertising and media, our Staff Writers are dedicated to providing industry-leading analysis and reporting, both shaping the conversation and setting the benchmark for excellence.

Latest News

Emboldened, Emotional & Inspired – Cairns Crocodiles Masterclass, Presented By News Australia, Tug The Heartstrings
16/05/2025
TV Ratings (15/05/2025): Women’s State Of Origin Game 2 Pulls Nearly Twice The Viewers Of AFL Clash
16/05/2025
Nine Hails “A Great Day For Investigative Journalism” As Ben Roberts-Smith Loses Defamation Appeal
16/05/2025
Keep Left Updates Earned Media Impact Score Platform
16/05/2025
//

B&T is Australia’s leading news publication magazine for the advertising, marketing, media and PR industries.

 

B&T is owned by parent company The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd.

About B&T

  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise

Top Categories

  • Advertising
  • Campaigns
  • Marketing
  • Media
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • TV Ratings

Sign Up for Our Newsletter



B&TB&T
Follow US
© 2025 B&T. The Misfits Media Company Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Register Lost your password?