´óÏó´«Ã½

An Irish gift shop website listing which described a woollen scarf as the "perfect Irish gift" has been found to be misleading by an advertising watchdog.

A complaint was made to the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland (ASAI) against Carrolls Irish Gifts - a well-known tourist gift store with 19 premises across the island.

The initial complaint said the listing for a brushed woollen scarf was misleading as the brand was not of Irish origin, nor were the scarves made in Ireland.

Carrolls said their products had an aspect "intrinsically linked to Ireland", therefore making them Irish gifts.

The brand of the scarf was redacted in the report by ASAI.

In their response to the complaint, Carrolls said it stocked knitwear that featured traditional stitch designs that originated in Ireland centuries ago.

It claimed this made the designs "internationally recognisable as unique to Ireland", and so were referred to as Irish knitwear on the website.

The product in question, Carrolls continued, was a popular gift for customers "seeking an Irish Gift as it had a style that drew from traditional Celtic tartan clothing pattern style".

The retailer said it clearly stated, both online and in-store, the product's manufacturing origin.

It said based on the above, the wording of "Irish gift" was honest and truthful, did not mislead and did not make any false claims.

However, while ASAI noted comments that the product was inspired by Irish designs, it rejected Carroll's claim the advert did not mislead.

The committee said the use of the term "Irish gift" without information on the website of the product's origin, had the potential to mislead and as a result, was in breach of the watchdog's code.

They ruled that in the future, the webpages should display the manufacturing origin when "Irish" was used in relation to the product.