Congratulations to Bristol City Council, who have passed a pioneering policy to restrict advertising for high carbon and other harmful products, becoming the first UK council to restrict advertising promoting ultra-fast fashion. This policy is the culmination of several years of work by Adblock Bristol, Adfree Cities and other campaigners, and tireless efforts of council officers and councillors. In this blog, we look back on how we got here, and share some insights from yesterday’s thoughtful council debate.
The journey
Back in 2021, (now MP) Carla Denyer, as a Green councillor for Clifton Down ward in Bristol, spearheaded the adoption of Bristol’s unhealthy food advertising policy. As a result, Bristol was the first local council to adopt such a policy. Along with Adblock Bristol, Denyer called for the council to include restrictions on high carbon ads, but then-mayor Marvin Rees cited a lack of precedent and decided not to take this step.
Fast forward five years, and over 20 councils including Sheffield and Edinburgh have introduced restrictions on high carbon ads. The (now Green majority) council in Bristol has now followed suit, and – in a pioneering move – has gone a step further to adopt restrictions on ads promoting ultra-fast fashion. Ultra-fast fashion advertising is defined in the new Advertising and Sponsorship Policy as “campaigns that centre on mass markdowns, limited time offers and offer codes, influencer promotions, limited time collections or ‘drops’, and mass sales (including ‘Black Friday’ promotions).”
Beyond this, the council is already considering what harmful industries to tackle next through future revisions of its advertising policy, and confirmed that they are working to define unsustainable food as a potential restricted category. We’re hopeful that we may see restrictions on adverts for unsustainable food such as meat and dairy in Bristol, as has already been pledged by the new administration in Hackney Borough Council in London, given the significant role of these industries in driving climate breakdown and pollution, not to mention poor animal welfare.
Speaking to councillors at Bristol City Hall as the policy was debated, Adblock Bristol’s Charlotte Gage said in a statement:
“As the first council to introduce restrictions around fast fashion advertising, you are inspiring other councils to take this step in acknowledging the impact of this industry on the climate and workers’ rights, and that these products should not be normalised through advertising. We encourage the council to have the maximum ambition in this policy area, and hope that they will continue to be innovative in thinking about further restrictions on climate damaging foods, and the dominance of big brands in our public spaces. We hope that Bristol City Council will continue to take a strong position on outdoor advertising for the benefit of residents and the planet.”
The debate: council income, electric SUVs… and banning Christmas?
In the council committee meeting on 14 September, members spoke overwhelmingly in support of the policy – with one notable exception (more on that below); but councillors had a thoughtful discussion around the issues ahead of the all-important vote.
Councillor Thomas Blenkinsop (Labour) agreed that there was a moral argument for making these restrictions, but queried whether there might be any loss of income as a result. Officers confirmed that no loss of income had materialised as a result of the previous policy regarding unhealthy food advertising, despite concerns, and that they did not expect any significant loss of income to result from these new restrictions. Research by food charity Sustain has found that councils that have introduced restrictions on unhealthy food advertising showed no loss in revenue compared to councils in general.
Councillor Blenkinsop queried the inclusion of adverts promoting electric SUVs – but saw the logic when officers explained the additional pollution and safety risks of promoting these oversized vehicles, including electric ones.
One dissenting voice, Councillor John Goulandris (Conservative) was “uneasy”, concerned that this policy could be the start of a slippery slope to banning Christmas and Easter. For us, this was a telling indication of the association – championed, of course, by advertising – between Christmas and consumption. Councillor Heather Mack – who has driven the development of this new policy – pointed out in response, that there are many ways to enjoy Christmas without a big carbon footprint.
Mack went on to outline the hugely important reasons why the council has prioritised this work. She said:
“Advertising is basically the art of manipulation… It forces itself upon all of us all of the time whilst we’re scrolling, whilst we’re walking, whilst we’re waiting for a bus, and we all know the impact that this has on our wellbeing and our mental health. But also the industries that are most able to advertise are likely those with the significant, excessive profit and can often be the most extractive and the most damaging.
I’m thrilled that this Green political priority is now being fulfilled… It is something that we can do easily and without a great cost to the council, that does reduce that climate impact… We’ll continue to look at how we can keep improving our advertising policy so that our outdoor spaces actually reflect the positive values of Bristol and of our local economy.”
It was inspiring to hear from councillors who clearly care a great deal about the impacts of the climate crisis and corporate power on citizens, and are willing to take bold steps to improve the city and lives of people in the face of these powerful interests.
“A positive step for Bristol”
Advertising restrictions are not just a practical, impactful way to reduce demand for polluting and harmful industries; they also send a message about what a city values. This was voiced by Councillor Sarah Classick (Liberal Democrat) who welcomed the “very fair and balanced” policy as a statement by the council, in setting out what the council can, in good conscience, promote on its own assets.
Councillor Patrick McAllister (Green) welcomed the policy as a”positive step for Bristol” and thanked campaigners for their work on this. McAllister said: “As a council we should not be platforming and accepting money from industries which can be dangerous and harmful.. [such as] the fossil fuel industry and fast fashion industry.”
He drew a comparison between the tactics of the tobacco industry – who spent millions on lobbying and misinformation to prevent the perception of tobacco as harmful from taking hold – and the tactics of the fossil fuel industry and airline industry today.
“As a council we are a responsible, fact-based organisation. We have public health and climate obligations. I think it is incumbent upon us to take a stand here, and say on the advertising platforms that we control and have influence we’re not going to give a voice to these industries. It’s not a war on Christmas. We’re not importing US culture war dynamics here and we’re not banning consumption,” said McAllister.
What’s next?
It will be interesting to see where this leads: whether, and when, more councils are encouraged to take this step; when we might see further advertising restrictions adopted in Bristol; and whether other measures to limit the reach of harmful industries may follow. For example, in this week’s debate Councillor Paula O’Rourke (Independent) pointed to Ireland’s policy of adding a handling charge on fast fashion purchases, and how measures like this advertising policy can be a nudge towards other impactful policy changes like this.
Councillor Ellie King (Labour) highlighted the important new restrictions on baby and infant food – important because behind the marketing campaigns for such foods there can often be a far higher sugar content that new mothers might be aware of, and there needs to be more transparency around that. “I look forward to the debate on sustainable food”, said King, citing concerns about how the food industry drives fossil fuel extraction through their supply chains.
We also look forward to this debate, but for now we strongly welcome this new bold policy from Bristol, which was decisively voted in 8-1 yesterday with cross-party support, and no amendments or abstentions.
We know that advertising restrictions work. More and more councils are recognising the ability they have to restrict the power and influence of some of the most polluting industries. Ad restrictions are a tangible step that a council can take for action on climate and health, and to shift the balance of power away from unsustainable corporations. Find out more about how your council can do this too.
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