Electronic Receipts: Two Cases Of Greenwashing, The Advertising Ethics Jury Agrees

Passed (in France) in 2020, the Anti-Waste Law For A Circular Economy (AGEC) dictates that receipts will be printed at the customer’s request, except in special circumstances.

Since then, several “start-ups” have aligned themselves to electronic receipts. Taking advantage of the new law, which has been postponed several times, they have developed communication campaigns highlighting the environmental interest of not using paper receipts. Faced with this flood of greenwashing, Two Sides France submitted two case complaints that seemed fitting for the Advertising Ethics Jury. On January 31st 2024, the jury agreed with Two Sides on those cases.

Aside from the fact that it’s hard to see how, if a consumer doesn’t need a paper ticket, giving them a digital ticket would be more virtuous, the communications from these companies frequently resort to clichés commonly employed to endorse digital “solutions.” Consequently, an excess of statements has emerged featuring generic ideas and sweeping statements praising the merits of avoiding paper, while omitting the environmental consequences of digital alternatives, claiming forest conservation, and asserting the positive aspects of an eco-friendly digital receipt allegedly in compliance with the above mentioned AGEC law.
more at: https://twosides.info/UK/electronic-receipts-two-cases-of-greenwashing-the-advertising-ethics-jury-agrees/