The Top 100 World's Most Ethical Companies

What do Aveda, S.C. Johnson and Son, and Whirlpool all have in common? They're all US consumer products companies that have been chosen as highly ethical. Note: Unilever (Netherlands) and Henkel AG (Germany) were also on the list.

Ethisphere released its June 2008 ranking of the world's 100 most ethical companies, and anyone who has ever poked a curious nose into the topic of business ethics should check it out. 

A few notes on the criteria:

1. Corporations that responded to a crisis with "real action" - as opposed to a PR campaign to cover up the mess - got extra points.
2. Products that clearly don't benefit the public's best interest pulled down a company's ranking.
3. Lawsuit particulars - even those that didn't hit the big media outlets - were taken into consideration.
4. Ultimately, companies that use "ethical leadership" and "purposeful method" were included in the list.

Tokyo-based global cosmetics company Kao (maker of Biore, Jergens, and John Frieda, among others) was the only one of its kind included in the list; executive vice president Shunichi Nakagawa chalks it up to their 120-year old code of ethics that governs all employees, even today. He cites 'integrity' to be their deepest value.

Should Unilever Be Criticized for Hypocrisy?

Last month Unilever got some serious flak for it’s Axe ads, which portray women in an, ahm, interesting way. Part of the branding effort was to show Axe as a deoderant whose scent drives women completely crazy - even the most innocent schoolgirl transforms into a wild pole-dancer.

Taken seriously, it does seem rather hypocritical that the same company that put out the Dove Evolution video that went viral (at about 5 million views) and created the Campaign for Real Beauty. And of course there is "Onslaught" that drew similar attention in its "exposé" of the beauty industry and the ways in which it attacks the psyche of young girls, showing them unachievable goals of perfection and perpetuating issues of low self esteem.

Watch and see for yourself. And ask yourself this: does it matter that these two "campaigns" - the rather sexist (?) Axe ads and this viral video - are products of the same corporation? Or are people overreacting to a campaign that is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek? Is Unilever just as guilty for sending a message that could be construed as sexist?