Actimel

How ethical is Actimel?

Actimel is a yoghurt brand which has a below-benchmark score on The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Yoghurt Ratings Table. Although Actimel has not yet met our ethical benchmark, we hope to see the brand make progress in the future.

We would have extra confidence in Actimel if it submitted itself to apply for Ethical Accreditation, whereby The Good Shopping Guide would make further detailed assessment and recommendations for ethical improvement. Find out more about the ethical issues facing the Yoghurt sector.

What does Actimel do?

Actimel is a brand of probiotic yoghurt drinks. It was created by Danone in 1994 after their ‘discovery’ of a culture they named L.casei Danone.

In which areas does Actimel perform poorly?

Actimel was marked down under our criteria for Animal Testing due to past criticisms of parent company, Danone, and no evidence to counter this.

Danone has contributed over $59k to political organisations in recent election cycles so Actimel receives a middle rating for our Political Donations criteria. Find out more about how we rate by exploring our ethical criteria.

Past Criticisms of Actimel’s record

Danone was fined by Argentina’s Trade Secretariat in 2023 for selling products with monthly price increases up to ten times over the limit set by the Fair Prices agreement. Danone is also amongst the top ten biggest plastic polluters worldwide, using a huge amount of plastic in its packaging, and has been named as one of the companies sourcing palm oil from suppliers responsible for widespread deforestation and human rights abuses in Papua New Guinea.

In which areas does Actimel score well for its ethics?

Actimel’s parent company, Danone, has a detailed ‘nature’ section within its Integrated Annual Report 2022 containing targets and evidence of progress relating to carbon emissions, energy efficiency, packaging and more. Actimel scores well for Nuclear, Fossil Fuels and Armaments due to a lack of criticisms across these criteria.

How can Actimel improve its ethical rating?

The below-benchmark score that Actimel is awarded with on The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Yoghurt Ratings Table is the result of an evaluation of multiple ethical criteria.

To reach our minimum ethical benchmark and qualify for Ethical Accreditation, Actimel has some issues to resolve, including Political Donations. If it applies for Ethical Accreditation, The Good Shopping Guide will be able to give Actimel some guidance to improve on these areas.

Were you aware that your brand could benefit from Ethical Accreditation? Brands accredited by The Good Shopping Guide can display our Ethical Mark, showcasing to consumers that it is an ethical and sustainable brand. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us or complete a Free Initial Assessment form.