Bristol has become the first UK city to prohibit advertising for fast fashion on council-owned advertising spaces, introducing the measure as part of a wider policy targeting products and services associated with high carbon emissions.
The updated advertising policy was approved by Bristol City Council’s Strategy and Resources Committee in an eight-to-one vote. It covers council-controlled billboards, bus shelters, digital displays, as well as print and online advertising spaces.
Alongside fast fashion, the revised rules restrict advertising for SUVs and other non-electric vehicles, airlines, cruise holidays and fossil fuel companies. Bristol had already introduced advertising restrictions covering areas such as gambling, payday lending and foods high in fat, salt and sugar.
The latest decision updates a policy introduced in 2021, when Bristol became the first UK council outside London to restrict advertising for unhealthy food. More than 20 UK councils now have some form of restriction on advertising linked to polluting products and services, although Bristol is the first to specifically target fast fashion advertising.
Deputy council leader Heather Mack said: “We’re proud of thinking holistically about the changes we need to keep Bristol green and thriving.”
The policy comes as Bristol seeks to connect its advertising environment with broader climate and consumption goals. The council says more than half of the carbon footprint of Bristol households comes from goods and services people use and purchase, with a significant share of those emissions generated outside the UK. Clothing produced overseas forms part of this wider consumption footprint.
Green Party MP Carla Denyer also welcomed the move, pointing to the city’s wider work on public transport, home heating and community energy. She said the council’s sustainability efforts should not operate alongside advertising for products and industries it considers inconsistent with those objectives.
The decision followed campaigning by Adfree Cities, which has advocated restrictions on advertising for climate-harming products at local and national levels. Cardiff, Edinburgh, Portsmouth and Sheffield are among other UK cities with restrictions covering certain environmentally harmful advertising.
For the fashion industry, the Bristol decision places fast fashion advertising within a growing local-policy debate over consumption, environmental impact and the role of public advertising spaces. The fast fashion advertising restrictions currently apply specifically to council-owned spaces rather than creating a citywide ban on fast fashion sales or private advertising.
