This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
Unilever has been penalized for environmental violations related to its manufacturing operations. In April 2014, Unilever Home & Personal Care USA was sentenced to three years of probation and fined $1 million for violating the Clean Water Act at its former Baltimore facility. The company was also fined $1.3 million by the California Air Resources Board in 2010 for selling consumer products that violated air quality regulations. These enforcement actions document a pattern of operational negligence leading to pollution.
The company's environmental impact extends to product composition. Unilever was among several major consumer goods companies that pledged to remove plastic microbeads from their products following regulatory scrutiny over the contribution of these microplastics to water pollution. Despite public sustainability commitments, Unilever announced in 2024 that it would scale back its environmental and social pledges, a move criticized by stakeholders as weakening its accountability for its environmental footprint.
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Related Exclusions
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The Naughty List
A digest of changes to our exclusion list — new additions, removals, and the evidence behind them. We review the list continuously as new evidence surfaces.
Companies appear on our exclusion list based on our investment judgment — not because they've done anything illegal. This is a difference of values and opinion, not an accusation of wrongdoing. Exclusion does not constitute a recommendation against investing in any company, and absence from the list does not constitute a recommendation to invest.
This information is provided for educational and transparency purposes only and should not be relied upon as investment advice. Data is drawn from independent watchdogs, NGOs, government registries, and Ethical Capital's ongoing research — see Research Sources for the full list.
Ethical Capital LLC is a state-registered investment adviser in Utah (CRD #316032). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.