Bristol becomes first UK city to ban ultra-fast fashion adverts
New council policy also bans adverts for SUVs, airlines, cruises and fossil fuels
Adverts promoting polluting products, including SUVs, fossil fuels and cruises, have been banned from advertising sites owned by Bristol City Council.
The city has also become the first in the UK to ban adverts promoting ultra-fast fashion.
The Green Party-led council's Strategy and Resources Committee passed the new Advertising and Sponsorship Policy yesterday (Monday 14th September 2026), in an eight votes to one decision.
The policy restricts advertising for polluting sectors including ultra-fast fashion, SUVs, airlines, cruises and fossil fuels on council-owned ad sites such as billboards, bus stop shelters, and print and online spaces.
It updates a previous policy passed in 2021, when Bristol became the first council outside London to ban advertising for unhealthy food.
The new rules will also ban advertising for nicotine products such as vapes and nicotine pouches, and ads for arms manufacturers, while strengthening rules around the promotion of unhealthy baby and infant foods in line with World Health Organisation guidance.
What counts as ultra-fast fashion advertising
Under the guidance, the council can exclude any fashion advert that includes phrases suggesting a significant price mark-down, such as 'now only'.
Adverts featuring limited time offers, sales or references to mass promotions, including terms like 'discounted', 'haul', 'everything now', 'limited shipping offer', 'flash sale', 'while stocks last' or 'Black Friday', will also be prohibited.
Advertising for fossil fuel-powered cars, SUVs, airlines and cruises will be removed because these forms of transport typically produce high levels of pollution, according to the council.
Promotion of UK-based holidays and more sustainable methods of travel, such as trains, will be encouraged instead.
Reaction from the council and campaigners
Deputy Leader of Bristol City Council, Councillor Heather Mack, who led the policy, said: "We don't want Bristol to be a billboard for polluters while we're working hard to improve health, air quality and nature in the city. We're proud to be thinking holistically about the changes we need to keep Bristol green and thriving."
Carla Denyer, MP for Bristol Central, who worked on the earlier ban on adverts for junk food and other harmful products in Bristol, said: "I am so pleased that the council has now taken this much-needed next step and added high-carbon products and services to the list of things that will not be advertised on council-owned space."
She added: "Our Green-led council is making huge strides on Bristol's climate and sustainability commitments, working on public transport infrastructure, home heating and community energy. It makes no sense for these efforts to be running alongside advertisements for things like oil and gas companies, SUVs or fast fashion which do not align with our community values."
Nicola Wilks, Co-Founder and Co-Director at Bristol-based campaign group Adfree Cities, said: "We know ad bans are a catalyst for healthy change. Removing tobacco ads saved lives by reducing levels of smoking. As a Bristol resident who cares deeply about climate change and air pollution, I am proud that Bristol has gone even further than other UK councils in curbing polluting ads; it feels like common sense."
James Ward, from Adfree Cities and the SUV Alliance, said: "Removing SUV advertising helps clear the road for drivers to choose smaller, safer and more affordable cars, not over-sized gas-guzzlers."
Anna Bryher, Policy Lead at Labour Behind the Label, said: "Advertising accelerates ultra-fast cycles of clothing, with increased emissions, excessive water use and poor working conditions for garment workers. Removing this type of ad is a brilliant step towards slowing down fast fashion and moving to a just transition."
Part of a wider trend
More than 20 UK councils, including Sheffield, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Portsmouth, have introduced curbs on adverts for particularly polluting products and services, citing their incompatibility with goals to improve air quality and reduce climate-harming emissions.
According to Bristol's most recent Quality of Life survey, covering 2024 to 2025, 83% of residents in the city said they were concerned about climate change.
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