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17
Aug
Advertising watchdog investigates Harrogate Spring Water claims
The Advertising Standards Authority has warned Harrogate Spring Water that two of its marketing claims could be misleading.
The regulator has sent an advice notice to the bottled water company after receiving a complaint.
The complaint refers to the ‘Since 1571’ claim, which appears on its bottles and on its website.
The website states: “Our story began in 1571 when Harrogate’s first mineral spring was discovered by William Slingsby.”
The complaint also refers to a statement on the company's website that says “to ensure our products stay in the circular economy and are made into new bottles, again and again”, which is included in a section about ‘environmental stewardship’.
An ASA spokesperson said it “received a complaint challenging whether the claims were misleading and could be substantiated”.
They added:
We issue an advice notice where we consider there are potential problems under our advertising rules but do not consider the issues raised are so significant as to warrant a full formal investigation.
We are aware that the claims that have been challenged currently appear on the website. We will monitor this situation and, if changes aren’t made or we receive a further complaint(s), we will consider next steps which could include more formal measures.
The spokesperson said the ASA decides what action to take regarding potential breaches of advertising rules based on its “prioritisation principles”.
They added: “If, having done this, we decide that the matter should be dealt with without an investigation being launched, we will write to the advertiser explaining the issues and provide advice and guidance on how to comply with the codes [an advice notice]."
A Harrogate Spring Water spokesperson said:
Harrogate Spring Water is open and transparent about its heritage and environmental initiatives and will address any queries directly with the ASA.
The Stray Ferret revealed a week ago that Harrogate Spring Water, which belongs to French multinational Danone, has applied to extract water from a borehole in Killinghall.
This has led to questions about whether the company's claim its water is bottled ‘at source’.
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