ASA makes landmark ruling over ‘flushable’ Andrex wet wipes claims

Andrex has come under fire over claims about the flushability of its toilet wipes.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint about Kimberly-Clark, the parent company of Andrex, over labels on the wipes and information on the product’s website.

Although the ruling itself made no judgement on the flushability of Andrex’s toilet wipes, the advertising was banned for omitting information about whether the product conformed to relevant UK standards.

The ASA ruled information on Andrex’s website and advertisement suggested there was a single standard to determine flushability.

The wipes did not meet Water UK’s Fine to Flush specification developed by Water Research Centre (WRc) but did comply with separate guidelines.

The ASA noted there is not one, single label or marker that denotes flushability and ruled information on Andrex’s website that encouraged customers to “Look for this label!” could mislead consumers.

Kimberly-Clark said its products complied with Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry and European Disposables and Nonwoven Associations GD4 guidelines for Assessing the Flushability of Disposable Nonwoven Products. This stipulated the wipes did not block a user’s toilet or contribute to blockages in the sewerage system.

Rae Stewart, director of corporate affairs at Water UK, said:“Water UK is very clear – wipes manufacturers should not label or sell products advertised as ‘flushable’ if they don’t pass the official ‘Fine to Flush’ standard. Our research shows that wipes can be a major contributor to sewer blockages, and customers have been left confused by wipes labelled ‘flushable’. If a wipe doesn’t have the official ‘Fine to Flush’ label we do not regard it as flushable, and it should go in the bin not the toilet.

“We look forward to working with Kimberly-Clark as they seek to meet the ‘Fine to Flush’ standard for their products.”

Kimberly-Clark said on the Andrex website: “The introduction of Water UK’s standard for flushability in the UK, Fine to Flush, happened earlier this year and while Andrex Washlets have not yet been tested against this new standard, we are now working in full collaboration with Water UK to adopt this UK standard at the earliest possible time.”

At the start of 2019 the Fine to Flush mark was introduced for items that have been tested and found to fully break down in the sewer system and not cause blockages.

Steve Grebby, policy manager for the Consumer Council for Water, said: “We want to see more wipe manufacturers adopting the Fine to Flush standard so all of us can make an informed choice when checking the label.”

The WRC, which tests wet wipes to see if they meet the Fine to Flush standard, presented the first certification to Natracare in February.

The Fine to Flush symbol shows consumers products that do not contain plastic and will break down in the sewer system.

Manufacturers of wipes can feature the official symbol on their packaging if a product passes strict scientific tests.

Fatbergs have grabbed headlines as the scourge of sewerage systems as congealed fats, oils and grease as well as accumulated wipes and nappies form hard to shift blockages in sewer pipes.

A 250-metre long, 130-tonne blockage named the Whitechapel Fatberg blocked an east London sewer and took Thames Water’s team 13 weeks to remove.