How Ethical Are the Brands You Buy Every Week?
You probably bought something from at least three of these companies today. The coffee, the cereal, the shampoo, the soda -- they all carry logos belonging to a handful of multinationals. We scored nine of them across 11 ethical dimensions using court records, regulatory actions, and NGO findings.
Not one scored positive overall. The best performer, Procter & Gamble, carries a -30 total. The worst, PepsiCo, sits at -270.
For a head-to-head on two of the biggest names in food, see our Nestle vs. Unilever comparison. For brands consumers are actively rejecting, see our boycotted companies analysis.
The Supermarket Ethics Scorecard
| Rank | Company | Total Score | Best Dimension | Worst Dimension |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Procter & Gamble | -30 | Honest & Fair Business (+20) | No War, No Weapons (-50) |
| 2 | Unilever | -90 | Fair Pay & Worker Respect (+60) | No War, No Weapons (-40) |
| 3 | Nike | -100 | Respect for Cultures & Communities (+30) | Safe & Smart Tech (-50) |
| 4 | Starbucks | -110 | Kind to Animals (+60) | Fair Pay & Worker Respect (-40) |
| 5 | Colgate-Palmolive | -130 | Fair Pay & Worker Respect (+20) | Kind to Animals (-40) |
| 6 | Nestle | -170 | Fair Pay & Worker Respect (+30) | Better Health for All (-60) |
| 7 | Coca-Cola | -200 | None above zero | Better Health for All (-70) |
| 8 | McDonald's | -200 | None above zero | Planet-Friendly Business (-60) |
| 9 | PepsiCo | -270 | Kind to Animals (+10) | Better Health for All (-60) |
Every company scores negative overall. Here is what the data looks like aisle by aisle.
Food Brands: Nestle, McDonald's, and What's on Your Plate
Three of the nine companies score -60 or below on Better Health for All.
Nestle scores -60 on health. In 2024, 62% of its net sales came from products with a health star rating below 3.5, based on regulatory filings. The Global Access to Nutrition Index found that Nestle's portfolio was least healthy in low-income countries -- the markets where nutritional integrity has the highest stakes. For the full picture on Nestle, including how it compares to its closest competitor, see our Nestle vs. Unilever deep dive.
McDonald's scores -50 on health, compounded by a late-2024 E. coli outbreak linked to Quarter Pounders that prompted a $100 million recovery plan. The company also scores -60 on Planet-Friendly Business, driven by its beef supply chain.
On supply chains, Starbucks faces multiple lawsuits filed in 2024 and 2025 alleging its coffee was sourced from farms implicated in forced labour, child labour, and human trafficking. In 2022, 17 workers were rescued from conditions on a Brazilian coffee farm in its supply chain. Despite its C.A.F.E. Practices certification programme, documented findings continue to surface.
Drinks: Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's Health and Plastic Records
Coca-Cola scores -70 on health -- the lowest in this group. While 45% of volume is now low- or zero-calorie, those alternatives face their own scrutiny: the WHO classified aspartame as "possibly carcinogenic," and non-sugar sweeteners have been linked to increased risks of type 2 diabetes in published studies. Regulatory records show Coca-Cola funded public health conferences without full disclosure of its involvement. Neither Coca-Cola nor McDonald's scores above zero on any dimension.
PepsiCo scores -60 on health. Only 28% of its products score 3.5 stars or above on the Health Star Rating system. The company faces lawsuits alleging deceptive marketing of products like Gatorade protein bars, which contain 29 grams of sugar per serving.
Beyond health, both companies carry war-related scores. PepsiCo was labelled an "international sponsor of war" by Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention for continuing essential item sales in Russia, and separately secured $217 million in U.S. Department of Defense contracts for beverage supply.
Personal Care and Household: P&G, Unilever, and Supply Chains
Procter & Gamble was designated an "international sponsor of war" by Ukraine in February 2023 for continuing operations and paying taxes in Russia. Score: -50 on No War, No Weapons. The company has also been linked to deforestation through palm oil suppliers. In November 2024, palm oil from illegally cleared sections of Indonesia's Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve entered its operations.
Unilever received the same war-sponsor designation in July 2023, having paid 3.8 billion roubles in tax to the Russian state in 2022. Unilever ceased imports and exports in March 2025 but continues running four manufacturing sites with approximately 3,000 employees in Russia. Score: -40 on war.
Colgate-Palmolive scores -30 on sourcing after a 2021 report, updated in 2022, exposed child labour in its palm oil supply chain in Papua New Guinea.
Nike carries a -30 on Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing. In FY24, forced labour audit non-compliances were found at 0.8% of Tier 1 suppliers and 2.9% of distribution centres. A 2024 Fair Labor Association investigation found retaliation against a worker at a supplier who sought compensation for unpaid leave.
Where Consumer Brands Score Well
Not everything is negative.
Worker treatment: Unilever scores +60. All direct employees have earned a living wage since 2020, and the company was accredited as a global living wage employer in February 2022. Nestle scores +30, having achieved 1:1 gender pay equity in the U.S. and been listed on Bloomberg's Gender Equality Index for five consecutive years.
Animal welfare: Starbucks scores +60 on Kind to Animals. It sources 100% cage-free eggs in North America, published a comprehensive Dairy Standard mandating pasture grazing and pain mitigation, and phased out routine use of medically important antibiotics in poultry.
Cultural respect: Nike scores +30 on Respect for Cultures & Communities, driven by its N7 Fund investments in more than 300 organisations supporting Indigenous communities.
Data Privacy: A Weakness Across the Sector
Consumer brands collect personal data through apps, loyalty programmes, and online ordering. Most handle it poorly, based on regulatory findings.
McDonald's scores -60 on Safe & Smart Tech after a 2023 data breach affecting 4.87 million South Korean customers and a BIPA lawsuit over biometric data collection via AI drive-thru systems.
Nike scores -50. Its app collects and shares sensitive data -- including personal photos and information about sexual orientation -- with third parties, according to regulatory filings.
Nestle scores -50 after three separate data breaches between 2022 and 2024, including one that exposed employee records in Brazil.
What This Means for Your Portfolio
If you hold a consumer staples ETF, you own most of these companies. The sector is marketed as defensive and low-risk. The integrity data shows a different profile: health externalities, supply chain labour findings, war-zone tax contributions, and recurring data breaches.
None of these nine brands scores above zero overall. For a broader view of how consumer brands compare to other sectors, see our S&P 500 ethical scores analysis.
Scoring methodology
Mashinii scores companies across 11 ethical dimensions using independently sourced evidence -- court records, regulatory actions, investigative reports, and NGO findings. Every score is backed by cited sources.
Learn more about our methodology
Search Any Brand
Search any company to see the full breakdown, or audit your portfolio to find out which consumer brands you are already exposed to.
Advisors subject to the FCA's Anti-Greenwashing Rule can use Mashinii's independently sourced evidence to verify client-facing ESG claims. See how advisors use Mashinii.
Audit My Portfolio | Search Any Company | View Rankings
Mashinii provides integrity data for informational purposes only. Nothing on this page constitutes financial, legal, or investment advice.