For immediate release
Press contacts: Nicola Wilks, Co-Director at Adfree Cities, 07788 727 622, and Charlotte Gage, Co-Director at Adfree Cities, 07841 508 231
Images for press: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1MbhGyvCmn03vssyRy7QU3COhmeOf7UF7
- Adverts promoting polluting products including SUVs, fossil fuels and cruises, have been banned on advertising sites owned by Bristol City Council.
- The city is the first in the UK to ban adverts promoting ultra-fast fashion.
- Local MP and campaigners say the move supports work across Bristol to protect nature and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
In a policy passed today, Monday 14th September 2026, Bristol City Council has introduced restrictions on advertising for polluting sectors including ultra-fast fashion, SUVs, airlines, cruises and fossil fuels on council-owned ad sites.
Deputy Leader of Bristol City Council, Councillor Heather Mack, who spearheaded the policy, said: “We don’t want Bristol to be a billboard for polluters while we’re working hard to improve health, air quality and nature in the city. We’re proud to be thinking holistically about the changes we need to keep Bristol green and thriving.”
Carla Denyer, MP for Bristol Central, who worked on the pioneering earlier ad ban for junk food and other harmful products in Bristol, said: “I am so pleased that the council has now taken this much-needed next step and added high-carbon products and services to the list of things that will not be advertised on council-owned space.
“Our Green-led council is making huge strides on Bristol’s climate and sustainability commitments, working on public transport infrastructure, home heating and community energy. It makes no sense for these efforts to be running alongside advertisements for things like oil and gas companies, SUVs or fast fashion which do not align with our community values.
“On a personal level, it’s also hugely rewarding to see something I worked so hard on finally come to fruition, and I am excited to see the positive impact this change is going to have on our city.”
More than 20 UK councils, including Sheffield, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Portsmouth, have now introduced curbs on ads for products and services that are particularly polluting, citing their incompatibility with goals to improve air quality and reduce climate-harming emissions. In Bristol, 83% of residents are concerned about climate change, according to the most recent Quality of Life survey (2024-2025).
The council’s policy aims to make room for the promotion of more sustainable forms of transport, travel and holidays. Advertising that promotes fossil fuel-powered cars, SUVs, airlines and cruises will be removed since these forms of transport typically produce high levels of pollution. However, the promotion of UK-based holidays and more sustainable methods of travel, such as trains, will be encouraged.
Councillors said there was a “moral argument” for banning ads for industries that are harmful. According to Adfree Cities, a Bristol-based campaign that has engaged with Bristol City Council to introduce this policy, the step is an important moment for the city.
Nicola Wilks, Co-Founder and Co-Director at Adfree Cities, said: “We know ad bans are a catalyst for healthy change. Removing tobacco ads saved lives by reducing levels of smoking. As a Bristol resident who cares deeply about climate change and air pollution, I am proud that Bristol has gone even further than other UK councils in curbing polluting ads; it feels like common sense.”
James Ward from the SUV Alliance said: “Removing SUV advertising helps clear the road for drivers to choose smaller, safer and more affordable cars, not over-sized gas-guzzlers.”
Bristol banned advertising for unhealthy food in 2021, the first council outside London to do so. It is now the first council in the UK to place restrictions on advertising that promotes ultra-fast fashion.
Anna Bryher, Policy Lead behind Labour Behind the Label, said: “Advertising accelerates ultra-fast cycles of clothing, with increased emissions, excessive water use and poor working conditions for garment workers. Removing this type of ad is a brilliant step towards slowing down fast fashion and moving to a just transition.”
The policy bans advertising for nicotine products such as vapes and nicotine pouches, and ads for arms manufacturers. It also strengthens rules around the promotion of unhealthy baby and infant foods, in line with WHO guidance.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Bristol City Council’s Strategy and Resources Committee passed the new Advertising and Sponsorship Policy on Monday 14 September, in a 8:1 vote by councillors (agenda). This updates the previous policy passed in 2021. The policy will apply to all council-owned advertising space, including billboards, bus stop shelters, print and online.
Updates to Bristol City Council’s Advertising and Sponsorship Policy can be found here: Appendix A1 – Proposed changes to Bristol City Council’s Advertising and Sponsorship Policy
Updates to Bristol City Council’s Advertising and Sponsorship Policy Guidance note can be found here: Appendix A2 – Proposed changes to Bristol City Council’s Advertising and Sponsorship Policy Guidance Note
Guidance on ultra-fast fashion can be found in Appendix A2 and is pasted here:
11.4 The council reserves the right to make a judgement on whether an advert or sponsorship involving a fashion retailer or producer should be excluded. The following would be prohibited:
- Any inclusion of ‘Now only’ (or similar phrases) which promote the false sense of significant price mark down of products
- Any inclusion of limited time offers or sales
- Any reference to mass sales or promotions, including phrases such as ‘discounted’, ‘haul’, ‘everything now’, ‘limited shipping offer’, ‘flash sale’, ‘while stocks last’, ‘Black Friday’
Bristol City Council’s previous Advertising and Sponsorship policy, introduced in 2021, banned advertising for unhealthy food, gambling, alcohol and pay-day loans: https://democracy.bristol.gov.
83% of Bristol residents report concern for climate change according to most recent Quality of Life Survey: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/
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