US Consumer Goods Companies Pull Back on Pride Messaging in 2025

US CPG firms posted 210 Pride messages in 2021 but just 5 in 2025. New data shows a sharp, consistent drop in LGBTQ+ support

CANTERBURY, KENT, UNITED KINGDOM, July 17, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In 2025, most US consumer goods companies stopped posting public messages of support for Pride Month. Once active in showing support for LGBTQ+ employees and customers, many have gone quiet, both at the corporate level and across their brand portfolios.

Sustainability Monitor reviewed social media activity from 23 of the largest US-headquartered consumer goods companies and 50 of their leading brands. All had posted Pride or LGBTQ+ content during Pride Month between 2020 and 2024. This year, only four companies - Kimberly-Clark, Colgate-Palmolive, The Clorox Company and SC Johnson - posted anything related to Pride. Only five posts were made in total, with one repeated across two platforms.

In 2021, which marked the peak of corporate Pride messaging, 19 companies posted a total of 210 Pride-related messages. The total included 50 messages from Molson Coors, 47 from Procter & Gamble and 27 from Mondelēz.

The drop is not limited to US companies. Of 25 large non-US consumer goods companies, many of which have significant US sales, only nine posted a combined 22 Pride-related messages this year. Major players in the alcoholic drinks sector such as Diageo, Campari, Pernod Ricard, LVMH and Suntory remained silent, while a few companies including Henkel, L’Oréal, Essity, Beiersdorf and Reckitt continued to stay active.

Brand silence is as striking. Of the 50 US-based brands in the sample, all of which had posted Pride content in the last five years, only one posted anything in 2025. Nair, the hair-removal cream owned by Church & Dwight, used a ‘Love Wins’ message on both Facebook and Instagram.

Ronnie McBryde, CEO of Sustainability Monitor, said, “Companies and brands have gone back into the closet. No longer out and proud, corporate messaging in support of Pride and LGBTQ+ employees and customers has declined noticeably over the past few years. A growing political backlash against DEI initiatives, mounting legal concerns and ongoing pressure from a small but vocal group of investors are clearly reshaping how companies approach public advocacy.”

“Silence sends a message. Drawing on six years of data, this analysis highlights the extent of the decline in corporate messaging in support of LGBTQ+ communities. We are seeing the ‘Social’ in ESG diminish in corporate and brand messaging, whether DEI or Pride/LGBTQ+”, he added. “It’s also evident that many non-US companies with significant operations in the American market are adopting a similarly cautious approach.

“Given these shifting dynamics, inclusion rankings from organisations like Forbes, Newsweek and the HRC (Human Rights Campaign), along with ESG ratings by financial institutions, may need to evolve. They should evaluate not just internal policies, but also how clearly and consistently companies communicate their commitments to equity and inclusion”.

Methodology
Analysed 1,624 Pride/LGBTQ+ posts from 48 CPG companies (23 US-based, 25 non-US-based) over six years (June ±1 week) on Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube. Covers 81 brands: 50 US-owned, 31 non-US.

About Sustainability Monitor: Leading the Way in ESG Tracking
Sustainability Monitor has spent the past six years analysing how global CPG/FMCG companies communicate ESG topics on social media. By tracking and categorising tens of thousands of posts, the organisation delivers valuable insights into the evolving ESG landscape.

Founded by Ronnie McBryde, former Worldwide Head of Information & Intelligence at Ogilvy and European Research Director at Mintel, Sustainability Monitor is at the forefront of ESG trend analysis. McBryde believes that monitoring social media offers an ongoing, nuanced view of ESG trends, more responsive and revealing than traditional, periodic reporting.

Ronnie McBryde
Sustainability Monitor
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