Major brands accused of unfair trade practices frequently include fast-fashion retailers like H&M, Zara (Inditex), Gap, Primark, and Next, often due to exploitative purchasing, canceled orders, and poor labor conditions in supplier factories. Other companies frequently cited for labor or ethical issues include Amazon, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, and major chocolate firms like Mondelēz and Mars.
The most unethical clothing companies are mainly popular multinational and e-commerce brands like Victoria's Secret, GAP, Fashion Nova, Uniqlo, Forever 21, Nike, Adidas, Disney, H&M that have been exposed to multiple unethical practices – including labor exploitation and/ or forced labor.
Zara and Inditex scored very poorly in Ethical Consumer's workers category. Inditex has a code of conduct outlining its expectations of companies supplying its brands, which includes basic requirements such as no use of forced labour or discrimination.
H&M is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative. Being a member of this initiative encourages a company to make progress and work for greater traceability and welfare of workers in its supply chain. It has received a good score for our Ethical Trading Initiative criteria.
Is Coca-Cola ethical? Our research highlights several ethical issues with Coca-Cola. The company has received 40 points or less in every category it has been rated on: agriculture, climate change, company ethos, tax conduct and workers. Below we outline of some of these issues.
What is Unfair Trade Practices and how to protect yourself as a consumer?
Does Coke support LGBTQ?
Coca‑Cola is proud of its history of supporting and including the LGBTQI community in the workplace, in its advertising and in communities throughout the world.
Coca-Cola brands, which includes Fanta, Dr Pepper, Sprite, and many more, receive a score of 55 in our table. PepsiCo, which owns 7Up, Copella, Pepsi, and Tropicana, receives a score of 41. We recommend avoiding these brands if you are concerned about contributing to plastic pollution.
Does IKEA make ethical and sustainable furniture? Owned by Stichting INGKA Foundation, IKEA is unfortunately a below benchmark brand within The Good Shopping Guide's Ethical Furniture sector. As a result of its low score, IKEA furniture cannot be classed as ethical.
M&M's is popular for its multicoloured button-shaped design, variety of flavours and its characters which are often seen in television and cinema adverts. Unfortunately, M&M's cannot be classed as ethical on The Good Shopping Guide's Ethical Chocolate Ratings Table due to its low score.
Sadly, we rate Prada “Not Good Enough” based on our own research. The Italian label still has a long way to go before we can consider it a responsible brand. Prada needs to improve its animal score, use more ethical and eco-friendly materials, and reduce hazardous chemicals and water use.
In addition, our Sustainability Policy requires that all our animal-derived products come from animals treated ethically and responsibly, and never from animals slaughtered solely for the commercial use of their skins, shells, feathers, down or other materials.
Shein scores very badly in Ethical Consumer's climate rating. In November 2023, Ethical Consumer's looked at measures that Shein was taking to reduce its emissions.
lululemon scores well for its Environmental Report, as it has a recent Impact Report containing clear targets for carbon emissions, plus sustainable materials and packaging. It also has a robust Code of Conduct which follows international conventions, so lululemon has a high score for this criterion.
Meanwhile, Calvin Klein faced scrutiny for marketing content on its website that the Council deemed as discriminatory against women. A branch of the Chamber of Commerce, Finland's Council of Ethics was founded in 2001 to handle customer complaints about ethically questionable advertising.
Temu scored 0 and Shein 20 out of 100 in Baptist World Aid's newly released Ethical Fashion Report. The best thing we can do as consumers? Help reduce demand and advocate for the Government and large companies to take more responsibility for tackling exploitation.
While the company claims to prioritize ethical labor standards, it has faced criticism for factory conditions, fair wages, and supply chain transparency. Additionally, UNIQLO introduces new collections frequently and offers low prices, which are hallmarks of the fast fashion model.
IKEA has been a long-standing advocate in its efforts to make people within the LGBT+ community feel welcomed, respected, and appreciated for who they are.
H&M is making positive steps when it comes to cutting emissions, and scores well in Ethical Consumer's climate change rating. The company has stopped working with new suppliers that rely on coal, working with 21 fewer suppliers using coal in 2022 compared to 2021, according to its 2022 annual report.
Since the launch of the campaign for Gender Equality in 2013, we have supported feminist organizations and activists, particularly focusing on vulnerable women and girls, including those from the Global South, Indigenous communities, and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Nike even promotes LGBTQ+ inclusive practices that they've learned right on a blog post on their website. First, they recommend “acting first,” prioritizing safe and welcoming spaces, especially for trans and non-binary youth.
Dr. Pepper is a Gen Z Favorite. In the survey of over 6-thousand Gen Zers, Dr. Pepper beat out Coca-Cola, Gatorade, and every other drink brand to become the most popular beverage overall.
Therefore this showcases that RedBull upholds their ethical responsibility to a significant extent as emphasised through the use of sustainable practices through all aspects of production and their commitment to not engage in modern slavery.
Ranking 1st, Nitro Pepsi Draft Cola is the unhealthiest soda on our list. Exactly how many calories in a can of Pepsi Nitro? Well, based on a 12-oz serving, it has the highest calorie content of 202 per 12-oz serving and is already 10% of your daily limit.
