ICJP submits complaint regarding SodaStream to Advertising Standards Authority
London, 1st August 2025 – The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has submitted a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) asserting that current advertising by SodaStream may fall foul of advertising standards for its misleading claims that its products ‘are made by Arabs and Jews working side-by-side in peace and harmony.’
ICJP calls for the ASA to urgently investigate SodaStream’s misleading advertising claims. Where the ASA finds that misleading advertising claims have been made by the company, we request that SodaStream be required to remove such claims from all of its products that are currently or in the future sold in the UK.
SodaStream is a commercially available device that allows users to convert tap water into sparkling water. It was founded in the UK in 1903 and moved to Israel in 1978. SodaStream product packaging includes a label with the Israeli flag that reads: “Made in Israel. This product is produced by Jews and Arabs working side-by-side in peace and harmony.”
In its marketing, SodaStream consistently states that the company ‘promot[es] diversity by connecting people from various ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds.’ However, in reality, SodaStream’s factory was located in an illegal settlement in the West Bank until 2015. It has now moved to the Negev Desert in Southern Israel, adjacent to Bedouin villages in the Naqab/Negev region. This industrial expansion has contributed to the displacement and dispossession of Bedouin communities, raising concerns about the continued marginalization of indigenous populations under the guise of regional development.
Palestinian workers at SodaStream factories have also highlighted exploitative labour practices, lack of religious accommodations and discriminatory treatment. Workers have been fired when raising these concerns.
ICJP’s complaint asserts that SodaStream’s current advertising may be in violation of the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional marketing (CAP Code). In particular, it asserts that SodaStream has both misled customers and exaggerated claims, including by presenting their claims as ‘universally accepted.’ These actions violate Rules 3.1, 3.2, 3.6 and 3.13 of the Cap Code.
ICJP Legal Officer Mira Naseer said:
“These testimonies and reports depict a stark contrast: while SodaStream promotes itself as a model of coexistence—a message that is printed on every SodaStream product sold in the UK—the reality is one of dispossession, discrimination and labour rights exploitation.
They’re misleading the British public with utopian myths of coexistence whilst their Palestinian employees live in a much more sinister dystopia.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
1. 1. The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians is an independent organisation of lawyers, politicians and academics who support the rights of Palestinians and aim to protect their rights through the law.
2. 2. For more information, to arrange an interview with a spokesperson, or to view a full copy of the letter, please contact the ICJP news desk at press@icjpalestine.com.
Image: Mauriziotani via Wikimedia Commons