Responsible Marketing
Marketing products in Food
At M&S Food we pride ourselves on our strong heritage of brand values and our unique business model that allows us to create long-term value for our customers through the effective use of resources and relationships.
Central to this model is our belief in being responsible, fair, decent and truthful in how we source and produce our food. And we recognise that we also have a duty to be just as transparent and responsible in how we sell and market our foods too. Therefore, we set out specific principles to follow in any of our external marketing communications.
The following Responsible Food Marketing Principles are based on the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) framework for Responsible Food and Beverage Marketing Communications, and exceed the standards set through current legislation.
In all of our food marketing communications, we promise that:
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Everything we say will always be legal, decent, honest and truthful; never misleading.
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How we write about, how we display and how we talk about our food and drink will always accurately and realistically show any material characteristics advertised and we will never mislead our customers over any of those characteristics.
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Any nutrition and health benefit claims included in our communications will always have a sound scientific basis, and adhere to any local regulations.
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We won’t encourage or condone excessive consumption; portion sizes will always be appropriate to the setting portrayed, who we intend to enjoy it, and government-recommended daily calorie intakes.
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Where possible we will encourage the promotion of healthy, balanced diets.
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Food products (e.g. drinks, bars, soups etc.) not intended to be substitutes for meals will never be represented as such.
 Marketing in Clothing & Homeware
Always striving to do the right thing in a responsible way.
We want all our advertising and communication to inspire and inform our customers and we’re committed to doing that in a way that’s fair, considerate, inclusive and transparent.
We have a daily dialogue with our customers and value their input and feedback. Every day our marketing team ensures that our customers are at the heart of everything we do.
Our approach includes, but is not limited to, the following principles :
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As an absolute minimum, all our marketing, advertising and promotions must comply with the relevant laws, regulations and self-regulatory codes.
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We will never mislead our customers.
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We will always be fair and transparent when labelling and promoting our products, enabling our customers to make informed choices.
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We always take a responsible and inclusive approach to casting models.
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We always take a responsible approach when marketing children’s products, for example we are signatories to the BRC Childrenswear Guidelines.
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We will never take part in any unsolicited marketing activities and will always alert customers if we are made aware of unsolicited marketing that uses the M&S brand without authorisation.
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We will never knowingly advertise in media or on websites that contain extremist views or explicit content.
 Marketing to children
Although the CAP and BCAP codes do not prohibit advertising to children in the UK, many studies have shown that children under the age of six cannot distinguish between editorial content and advertising.
Many more studies have shown that children under the age of twelve 12 can be particularly susceptible to advertising and marketing messages. Which is why at M&S we promise that we will never actively direct any marketing communications to children under the age of 12, and only ever direct our advertising to gatekeepers (adults, parents, guardians) instead. Furthermore, we will never directly advertise any HFSS products (those high in fat, sugar or salt) to children under the age of eighteen in any circumstances. In addition, we promise that we will never:
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Convey misleading or harmful messages to children, directly or indirectly
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Suggest a sense of urgency to children
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Undermine parental authority, responsibility, judgement or influence
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Include any direct appeal to children and young people to persuade their parents or other adults to buy products for them
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Exploit a child’s inexperience or credulity
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Encourage unhealthy dietary habits in children
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Blur the boundary between child-focused editorial content and commercial promotion
Environmental and Ethical marketing
 At M&S we know our consumers want us to do the right thing. We will never knowingly mislead our customers.
Our customers are becoming increasingly conscious of their purchasing decisions and the impact they have on the planet. They are also expecting us to be more transparent about the products we source and the environmental and social implications of our product offer.
Our claims will always be substantiated with appropriate evidence and we require all colleagues who are responsible for developing, writing and publishing sustainability claims to have read and understood the latest public guidance and principles, including from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), before making environmental or ethical claims public.
Since the CMA's 'Green Claims Code' was released in 2021, we’ve created new internal guidance and are in the process of training colleagues on the claims requirements outlined by the CMA.
As a retailer, serving customers is at the heart of everything we do. We and our partners are fully committed to respecting the human rights of our customers. This includes our approach to handling customer's data, protecting their privacy, marketing to them responsibly and ensuring they can shop with us safely. Customers are increasingly aware of their personal impact on the world and businesses must work hard to build and maintain their trust
Any customer with human rights concerns regarding the human rights impacts of M&S activities can raise them through Customer Services channels in store and online. During 2017/18, we developed a set of Responsible Marketing Principles to provide greater reassurance on protecting customer privacy and responsible advertising, which we continue to use.