How do you rate companies?

At Undertones, we evaluate the extent to which brands value, address, and act upon matters of social impact and inclusivity. We are guided by the belief that All Black Lives Matter, so our rating system places particular emphasis on brands’ responses to racial injustice and the strides they have made toward creating equitable spaces for BIPOC communities.

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Our rating system is guided by three pillars:

1. Internal Representation & Support

2. Public Commitment

3. External Communication

 

Each of these three pillars is further broken down into subcategories that are given individual scores. These subcategories make up each overall pillar score, and the three pillar scores make up the overall company score. 

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To better understand the details of our rating system, click here to learn more.

 

How often do you rate companies?

We pride ourselves on keeping our ratings current and will update scores quarterly or whenever changes are made to our scoring criteria.

 

How do you choose which companies to rate?

Our first priority is to rate larger, well-known companies that are popular amongst most everyday consumers. However, we also strive to uplift and promote smaller brands as alternatives.

 

How do we hold brands with poor ratings accountable?

We encourage all users to actively participate and engage with the company and their rating through our “speak out” section on the brand page.  We also often post excerpts of our ratings on our instagram so we recommend you follow and share these posts to increase awareness and put continued pressure on these brands.

 

Is there an app?

We are currently developing a mobile app, but the website is mobile-friendly as well.  We encourage referencing our mobile site when shopping on the go.

 

Can I submit companies that I want to see ratings for?

Definitely!  We’re always open to feedback.  Please submit brands you’d like us to rate via our submit a brand page here.

 

I have a question for a specific brand, how can I directly contact them?

The “speak out” section on each brand’s page has an option to contact the brand to give them feedback. Undertones will collect this information and submit it to the brand on your behalf.

 

I see misinformation in your rating, where can I give my feedback?

Please submit your feedback either in the “speak out” section of the brand’s rating page or feel free to contact us below.

 

Can I suggest updates to your rating system?

We’re always open to feedback on our rating system. Feel free to learn more about how we rate brands in detail here and let us know your suggested updates by contacting us below.

 

What is considered a “good” rating?

An Undertones approved rating is delineated by green colored scores or anything with an overall score of 70% or more.

 

Do you allow companies to request ratings?

A company can submit a request for their brand to be rated, but we prioritize brands that are most popularly asked and referred to by consumers.

 

Do you take low ratings down if companies ask you to?

We do not take down low ratings or adjust scores unless we are updating our scores based on relevant and public new information.

 

Why don’t BIPOC owned businesses have ratings?

At Undertones, we’re focused on holding large brands accountable while elevating great BIPOC owned businesses as alternatives.  Because many of the BIPOC businesses we feature are still growing, they often don’t meet the criteria that we expect of the large enterprise businesses that we rate.