Pantene

How ethical is Pantene?

Pantene is a brand of hair care products which has a below-benchmark score on The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Shampoo & Conditioner Ratings Table. Although Pantene has not yet met our ethical benchmark, we hope to see the brand make progress in the future.

Find out more about the ethical issues facing the Ethical Shampoo & Conditioner sector.

What does Pantene do?

Pantene is a brand of hair care now owned by The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G). The brand was created in Switzerland in the 1940s by drug company Hoffman-La Roche using Panthenol.

In which areas does Pantene perform poorly?

On its website, The Procter and Gamble Company has a section titled Structure and Governance. The page includes information about its political involvement and lobbying activity. As its donations are above our threshold, Pantene gets a bottom rating for Political Donations. Pantene was marked down under our criteria for Animal Welfare as the brand’s parent company, Procter & Gamble, confirms that it does test on animals when required by law.

Pantene was also marked down under our criteria for Organic products and Vegetarian/Vegan Verified products, as it does not have any certifications of this kind. It also gets a bottom rating for Irresponsible Marketing due to ongoing lawsuits relating to allegations of carcinogenic contaminants in its Old Spice antiperspirant sprays.

Procter & Gamble has been named as one of the companies sourcing palm oil from suppliers allegedly controlled by the Harita Group, responsible for ongoing destruction of forests and indigenous communities in Borneo. Procter & Gamble also scored Ethical Consumer’s worst rating for its use of palm oil. These are just some examples of why Pantene receives a bottom rating for Public Record Criticisms.

In which areas does Pantene score well for its ethics?

Pantene receives a high score for its Environmental Report, as Procter and Gamble has an Environmental Sustainability page on its website which contains information and targets for the environmental topics of water, climate, packaging and forestry.

We found no criticisms relating to Genetic Modification, Nuclear Power, Fossil Fuels or Armaments so Pantene scores well for these criteria.

How can Pantene improve its ethical rating?

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

To reach our minimum ethical benchmark and qualify for Ethical Accreditation, Pantene has some issues to resolve, including its use of animal testing. If it applies for Ethical Accreditation, The Good Shopping Guide will be able to give Pantene 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.