River Action secures landmark greenwashing decision as ASA rules Red Tractor misled consumers

After a formal complaint brought by River Action, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has found that the UK’s largest farm assurance scheme misled shoppers by implying a level of environmental protection and regulatory compliance that its certification cannot substantiate.

The Red Tractor scheme, used by leading supermarkets including Tesco, Asda, Waitrose and Morrisons to assure customers their food meets high standards for welfare, environment, traceability and safety, currently certifies around 45,000 farms in the UK.

River Action’s complaint challenged an advert last broadcast in 2023 that claimed; “From field to store all our standards are met. When the Red Tractor’s there, your food’s farmed with care”. However, the evidence submitted by Red Tractor failed to show that its scheme reliably delivers outcomes that meet such environmental standards.

Crucially, River Action brought forward analysis of data obtained via Environmental Information Requests showing that from January 2020 to July 2025, 7,353 inspections of Red Tractor-certified farms identified at least one breach in nearly 60% of cases, a total of 19,305 non-compliance instances, across beef, dairy and crop farms. Additionally, an earlier Environment Agency study found that 62% of the most serious agricultural pollution incidents in England (categories 1 & 2) between 2014–19 involved Red Tractor-assured farms.

Agricultural pollution is one of the biggest pressures on Britain’s rivers and freshwater wildlife. Only around 14% of England’s rivers are currently classed by the Environment Agency as being in ‘good’ ecological health, with farming-related nutrient pollution identified as a major contributing factor.

The impact is stark in the River Wye, where research has shown that 60–70% of the phosphates entering the Wye originate from agricultural sources, contributing to the collapse of river plant and invertebrate habitats in some stretches by up to 90%. Around 23 million chickens are farmed within the Wye catchment, and the river is now the focus of the UK’s largest environmental lawsuit over nutrient pollution, with Avara Foods, a Red Tractor-certified producer, among the companies named in the legal action.

River Action’s Chair and Founder, Charles Watson, noted, “The ASA ruling confirms what we’ve long argued: Red Tractor’s claims aren’t just misleading – they provide cover for farms breaking the law.” River Action is now launching its #UpYourStandards campaign, urging UK supermarkets to stop relying on the Red Tractor logo as a badge of environmental protection and sustainability and instead adopt truly rigorous independent audits and public reporting of suppliers’ environmental performance.