Équiterre indicated that it had filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Office (OPC) against Toyota due to two advertisements that allegedly promoted dangerous driving and omitted information on the environmental footprint of Tacoma pickup trucks.
The ads in question, videos, promote the Tacoma pickup truck on social media.
Drivers can be seen driving vehicles in circles at high speed in what appears to be a desert.
“They are examples of what we are denouncing, but we could have made a complaint before. Then we could have made a complaint against other advertisements. We are not specifically targeting Toyota or this model, but there is exactly what we wanted to show in these two advertisements,” explained Anne-Catherine Pilon, sustainable mobility analyst at Équiterre.
According to the environmental organization, Toyota’s advertisements could contravene section 219 of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), which prohibits false or misleading representations.
“We are depicting off-road and dangerous driving. These representations do not reflect the normal use of a vehicle by Quebec consumers,” indicated Me Julien O. Beaulieu, lawyer specializing in greenwashing, in a press release.
Équiterre also believes that these advertisements could contravene section 228 of the law, which prohibits the omission of important facts in representations to consumers.
“The campaign fails to disclose important information about the risks of reckless vehicle use as well as the high environmental footprint of gasoline-powered vehicles. We therefore present a false or misleading image of reality: we neglect to inform that this type of driving should be avoided, that it is often forbidden to drive in these natural environments and we ignore the ecological footprint. All of this is problematic,” said Anne-Catherine Pilon.
“We want the industry to question certain advertising practices,” explained Ms. Pilon.
Équiterre would like to make the display of information relating to safety and environmental impacts and vehicle prices mandatory to better inform “consumers in a context of climate change,” added Ms. Pilon.
