Businesses know that public perception is imperative to their success. So they strive to stay away from scandals — or try to hide them. Unfortunately, many famous brands have bad ethics, and their customers hate them for it. These controversies vary from selling dangerous products, breaching privacy contracts and unethical manufacturing practices — including human rights violations. The list goes on, and many customers would prefer not to hear about it. Some of these scandals are non-repeated incidents, and some are ingrained in the brand’s business model and culture. And for some of the companies on this list, this is just a fraction of their rap sheet.
6 Brands With Deplorable Ethics
Facebook is no stranger to controversies. In fact, it’s a pro at it now. The company was caught multiple times collecting their users’ data and leaking it, creating major privacy violations. Similarly, Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014 and promised to keep the platforms separate. This was proven to be a lie when WhatsApp updated its terms of service; it said it would share personal data with Facebook. The company also tracks users’ data on other apps and websites for their target ads. That is why you might be casually looking up a product only to receive multiple ads about it afterward. The lack of trust and transparency in this company causes many users to leave the social media platform. [1]
Monsanto
Monsanto is an agricultural company with a villainous reputation. It was accused of manufacturing and distributing insecticides and herbicides that are life-threatening to people and the environment.
For instance, Monsanto created Agent Orange. This weedkiller allegedly caused the deaths of over 400,000 people and 500,000 birth defects in Vietnam. Many people protest the company’s genetically modified organism seeds. Perhaps most famously, Monsanto received many lawsuits for RoundUp, its herbicide that many claimed causes cancer. [2]
Nestle
Nestle’s ethics have been hated since the 1980s when they marketed baby foods that breached global marketing standards. Also, the baby foods allegedly caused the deaths and suffering of infants all over the world. Meanwhile, the company was also under fire for its bottled water sources, especially after it extracted water from watersheds that tend to suffer from drought.
And in 2019, Nestle was declared one of the top three plastic polluters in the world. Unfortunately, it has yet to change its policies to help the environment. Perhaps worst of all, the company lacks proper auditing. This raises concern that Nestle uses child labor, forced labor, discrimination, and inhumane living wages and working hours. [3]
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Uber
Most of Uber’s controversies seemed to arise in 2017. A former Uber employee, Susan Fowler, publicized an essay about the company’s sexist culture that allows for sexual harassment. The company also faced several lawsuits for sexual harassment and alleged theft of intellectual property for self-driving cars. During that year, thirteen company executives resigned. And just in time. That September, the company was subject to an FBI investigation for illegally interfering with Lyft, a rival company. [4]
Amazon
Amazon’s ethics have been scrutinized many times, but never as much as during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their workers suffer from long hours, and health and safety violations. Additionally, the company did not enforce regulations such as social distancing and cleaning. Keep in mind that Amazon workers were deemed essential. Additionally, the company hired more people to keep up with the increased demand for their services. More people crowding into the stuffy warehouses. And the company penalized or fired employees who complained about the working conditions and discouraged unions. [5]
United Airlines
United Airlines made headlines in 2017 when a man was beaten and dragged off a plane. He had refused to give up his seat after the flight overbooked. The company’s public relations worsened when CEO Oscar Munoz’s apology seemed dismissive and half-hearted.
The company made strides to fix their public approval but their PR disasters didn’t end. A year later, the company received severe backlash when a puppy died on a plane. A flight attendant insisted on putting the dog’s carrying case into the plane’s overhead compartment. For a three and half hour flight.
“You can’t talk your way out of a situation you behaved your way into,” said Anthony D’Angelo, national chair of the Public Relations Society of America. He refers to United Airlines’ numerous bad headlines as a reputational “death by a thousand cuts.” [6]
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Sources
- “Facebook Users Have 3 Superb Reasons To Quit In 2021.” Forbes. Kate O’Flaherty. January 10, 2021
- “10 Most Hated Companies in America in 2020.” Yahoo Finance. Charles Omedo. September 5, 2020
- “Nestlé SA.” Ethical Consumer.
- “Bad reputation: America’s Top 20 most-hated companies.” USA Today. Samuel Stebbins, et al. February 12, 2018
- “How Amazon became a pandemic giant – and why that could be a threat to us all.” The Guardian. John Harris. November 18, 2020
- “United Airlines image bruised after latest round of PR fiascos.” Reuters. Alana Wise. March 20, 2018