5 Supposedly Ethical & Eco Brands Not to Buy From Due to Shady Actions
As someone who has working been in the conscious consumerism space for over nine years, I’m so tired of brands claiming to be ethical and then abandoning these practices.
So here is my list where we call them out. And don’t worry I’ve got receipts for their unethical behavior. And I invite you to share your own experiences in the comments.
As someone who used to own an e-commerce shop, I think struggling as a small business is an opportunity to really show your dedication to transparency by informing your customers, partner brands, team, and others you work with of the issues.
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However, the brands below have failed to do that.
And here’s the thing. If these brands don’t have the time to respond to people with a platform (like myself) who have the privilege of being able to call them out, then I HIGHLY doubt they are treating the other people in their supply chain ethically.
A List of “Ethical” Brands Doing Shady Thing
Here are five brands I’ve dealt with that claim to be ethical and sustainable, but have shown to choose unethical behavior and fail to be transparent.
Made Trade
I can’t even link to Made Trade’s website because it mysteriously disappeared. It seems to have disappeared towards the end of January. Leaving their small business partners unpaid and customers with missing orders.
I’ve been in contact with brands who are missing payments owed for already shipped product. And you can see from their Facebook page comments that some customers are missing orders.
They’ve also turned off their Instagram comments. I and other small businesses have reached out via e-mail multiple times over the past month and nobody has received a response.
As a former affiliate for this brand I reached out to CJ Affiliate who hosted their referral program and was met with the response:
“After further review, it appears the advertiser may be closing their business, that may be why their website is down. I believe they should be reaching out in that regard.”
Nobody from the Made Trade team has reached out to me or their brand partners. And I’m not sure if remaining affiliate invoices will be getting paid, brand will be paid, or customers will receive their orders.
I encourage you to avoid this brand and if you have any information please share in the comments. Whether they come back or not I will be cutting ties with them due to their unethical handling of this situation.
Oliver & Rain Kid’s Clothing
I don’t know why Oliver & Rain, also known as Kanopy Brands, is still a functioning e-commerce website. This brand sells organic kid’s clothing with cute prints and I see the appeal, but on their Instagram page you can see SO MANY customers reporting missing orders and refunds.
I have also reached out to them regarding missing affiliate payments and have never received a response.
I also reached out to Impact who hosts their affiliate program.
And for some reason Impact is allowing them to continue having an active account despite not paying invoices. Incredibly disappointing.
As of 2025 I have still not been paid for multiple transactions happening back in 2022.
Indigenous Designs
Please avoid purchasing clothes from Indigenous Designs. While claiming to be fair trade, I don’t believe it.
Indigenous Designs approached me back in 2020 to join their affiliate program. They sent me a sweater and I was impressed with the quality, so I said sure! The organic and fair trade practices on their website made it sound great. They even had a Impact Report too.
And in 2023 I realized they hadn’t paid me in a while. I began reaching out with no response. Despite generating over $4,000 in sales for them, they did not bother paying me and owe more over $490.
I tried contacting them via e-mail and social media with no response. I also reached out to their affiliate program platform, Refersion, who told me:
Unfortunately, Refersion is not able to facilitate or deliver payments on behalf of a merchant. The conditions of payouts are at the discretion of the merchant your partnered with and should reflect what you see listed in the terms and conditions of their program.
Refersion tried to reach out to Indigenous Designs with no response as well. Their affiliate program was canceled as of May 2023 and I have still not been paid as of 2025. Do not order from them or visit their California store as I do not believe they have honest values.
Amour Vert
This one makes me sad because I’ve purchased things from Amour Vert over the years and really loved the quality of their clothes and their style.
Amour Vert canceled their affiliate program without any notification. So, myself and other creators have been sending customers their way while being unaware that we were no longer receiving commission.
I’ve tried to reach out to the brand via e-mail and social media with no response.
They have not posted on social media since 2024 and also turned off comments on Instagram. Their Facebook page has SO many comments of people talking about missing orders.
And their website has a weird message stating:
Thank you for the overwhelming response to our markdown sale!
We are currently busy fulfilling orders and are not accepting new ones at this time.
In the meantime, feel free to join our mailing list to stay updated on future announcements and offers.
Again a HUGE lack of transparency.
Alltrue/Causebox
In 2021 Causebox rebranded as Alltrue. While claiming to be socially responsible, they actually owed their partner brands a lot of money. Customers reported missing orders and no communication was available. This Forbes article has a bit more information.
While somehow this company is still functioning in 2025, I would not buy from them given their history.
Looking for actually socially responsible companies? Here’s a list!
While I try my best to do my research before recommending a brand, sometimes it’s not enough. It makes me sad and disappointed that I once recommended these brands.
If you’re having issues with one of these brands please share in the comments and continue to call them out on social media.
If you know of other brands claiming to be ethical, but doing shady things please also share in the comments to alert customers to avoid them.
I’d also love for you to consider subscribing to our newsletter to stay up to date on conscious consumerism and actually ethical brands.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Emily Waddell is the founder of The Honest Consumer. She has always been passionate about business for good and has a Bachelor degree in Social Entrepreneurship. She currently lives in Seattle where she practices imperfect sustainability. When she’s not writing, Emily enjoys supporting small businesses, clean eating, & practicing slow living. Learn more about Emily’s journey starting The Honest Consumer.
For more ethical & sustainable tips be sure to explore more conscious lifestyle blog posts, follow The Honest Consumer on social media, subscribe to our newsletter, & check out the Ethical & Sustainable Brand Directory.