The 21 Consumer Goods Companies That Are Earning More Americans' Trust

For the third year in a row, Newsweek has partnered with data intelligence platform Statista to rank the Most Trustworthy Companies in America.

The 2024 edition of the ranking, which is based on the results of a survey of 25,000 U.S. residents, features 700 companies across 23 industries. Retailers are the largest industry segment (with 66 companies) followed by food and beverage producers (with 50). Consumer goods, which encompass 40 companies, represent the third-largest category on the ranking.

Every year, different trends emerge as various companies rise and fall on the list. To showcase the companies that are making strides when it comes to consumer trust, Newsweek has identified retailers that have climbed up the list year-over-year and the food and beverage firms that finished at the top of their sector.

Now, to help shoppers recognize the consumer brands that are gaining trust in the marketplace, Newsweek has rounded up the 21 consumer goods companies that have improved their standing since last year's Most Trustworthy Companies ranking—whether they managed to leapfrog a few slots or went from not being ranked last year to appearing on this latest edition.

The trustworthiness of these consumer goods companies is evident from their charitable initiatives, in-touch leadership, consistent product innovation and commitment to sustainability.

Procter & Gamble

The No. 1 most trusted consumer goods company this year, Procter & Gamble, moved up seven spots from No. 8 last year.

The multinational company is seen as trustworthy not just for the products it sells, but also for the charitable causes it supports.P&G, which makes brands including Pampers, Tide, Crest and Febreze, made headlines in March when it came to the aid of victims of tornadoes in Ohio and Indiana by offering free mobile laundry and shower services to area residents.

The company is also looking to engage with customers via its rewards program called P&G Good Everyday, where customers can complete surveys, take quizzes or scan receipts to earn points that can be used on gift cards, sweepstakes entries or donations to a preferred cause. Donation recipients include initiatives like It's Our Home, which advocates for youth environmental education, or Loads of Hope, which provides detergent to people in need.

Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive, in the second spot among consumer goods companies on this year's ranking, moved up from No. 5 last year. The company, besides its namesake Colgate toothpaste and Palmolive soap, is also behind brands such as Speed Stick, Irish Spring and Hill's Pet Nutrition.

Like P&G, Colgate-Palmolive touts its community focus. The company's website points to its initiatives to provide free oral health education and dental care in over 80 countries, donate pet food to shelters, and help supply meals, afterschool tutoring and sports programs for youth in Mexico.

Earlier this month, the company announced that it had been honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy for the 14th consecutive year, earning an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for its achievements in energy efficiency.

SC Johnson

SC Johnson was the biggest year-over-year climber that was also ranked last year in the consumer goods section, rising from 22nd place to No. 7 this year. The Wisconsin-based private company—its website reminds you that it's a family company in its logo—makes Windex, Raid, Pledge and other household staples.

In March, SC Johnson CEO Fisk Johnson testified in a congressional hearing about the need for federal-level extended producer responsibility, a policy approach that holds product makers responsible for an item's post-consumer environmental considerations.

Johnson told the representatives, "I believe plastic waste is a critical issue that needs to be addressed in a practical, good way to make substantive progresses through a national regulatory framework, where you can achieve scale with producers taking responsibility for the life cycle of their products."

Igloo

The No. 8 consumer goods company on the list, Igloo, was the highest-placed brand that was entirely unranked last year. The company's popular coolers can be found on any beach or along for the ride on any road trip.

What may be less well-known about the company, though, is its wide range of "coolaborations." Consumers can get Igloo coolers co-branded with Peanuts drawings, Star Wars characters and music acts like Green Day and the Wu-Tang Clan.

In January, the company entered the active cooler space with the debut of its ICF Series, a collection of iceless electric compressor coolers. These coolers give the owner temperature control anywhere from 0 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit without ice.

Steinway & Sons

Piano maker Steinway & Sons landed at No. 11 after being unranked last year. In October, the company, which has been producing pianos for more than 170 years, announced a collaboration with Disney to produce a limited edition piano displaying images of Mickey Mouse, one of its many piano varieties in its long history.

The company's other collaborations show the breadth of its pianos' appeal. It has had partnerships with Swiss luxury travel brand Explora Journeys to provide pianos for cruise ship entertainment and with rocker Lenny Kravitz to provide a $50,000 donation to the Harlem School of the Arts. Singer Rufus Wainwright participated in the launch of the Gran Nichetto piano, itself a collaboration with Italy- and Sweden-based designer Luca Nichetto.

Yankee Candle

No. 12 on the list, Yankee Candle, was also absent from last year's ranking. The company, responsible for everyone's mom's favorite flavor of candle, was started in 1969 when 16-year-old Mike Kittredge melted Crayons to make his mother a candle for Christmas, a gift that he instead sold to a neighbor.

Today, Yankee Candle makes more than 600 candle fragrances (including aromas like aloe & agave, pink cherry & vanilla, and Bahama breeze) as well as home and car fragrance products, and candle accents and accessories. The company has a massive retail footprint: It has more than 300 company-owned stores nationwide and a network that includes more than 14,000 specialty U.S. retailers.

Tupperware

Ubiquitous container maker Tupperware finished at No. 13 on the list this year, after being unranked in 2023. The company has a history that dovetails with the evolution of the typical American residential kitchen, from the first Tupperware parties in the 1940s through '70s-era catalogs offering products in four basic colors, to a partnership with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, a chemical manufacturer, to design products made from mixed plastic waste in the 2010s.

In October, the publicly traded company made waves by bringing in Laurie Ann Goldman as the new company president and CEO. Goldman is a consumer products giant who has served as CEO of Spanx, Avon North America and most recently of medical aesthetics brand OVME, and in various leadership roles at Coca-Cola for more than a decade.

Klein Tools

No. 15 on this year's list, Illinois-based Klein Tools was also unranked last year. The company, founded in 1857, is a product-making machine. In February alone, it released a new line of face shields, new hollow nut drivers (which look like a cross between a screwdriver and a ratchet), its Premium Meter Electrical Test Kit, a 64-piece ratchet and driver system, and new carbon fiber hard hats. In January, it released nine new products.

Thomas R. Klein is the chairman and CEO of Klein Tools, which has been overseen by six generations of the Klein family since its founding. The company operates a family of businesses that includes Klein Cutlery, which it says is the largest U.S. manufacturer of hot-forged scissors and shears, and Brazilian equipment producer Civitella.

Delta Faucet

"Passion flows" at the No. 17 consumer goods company on the list, Delta Faucet, which wasn't on last year's ranking. The company may be larger than you realize—it owns the Brizo, Kraus, Peerless, First Wave, Steamist and eponymous Delta brands, employs more than 3,000 people worldwide and has over 2,100 granted U.S. patents.

Delta Faucet focuses on charity by giving monetary and product donations to organizations like Habitat for Humanity and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and via financial support to the United Way of Central Indiana. The company also says it strives to make products that help conserve water, such as faucets that use Delta VoiceIQ Technology, which can fill a container to a precise measurement, even from across a room via hands-free command activation.

Steelcase

Workplace design company Steelcase rose three spots on the list since last year, climbing from No. 23 to No. 20 in 2024. The Michigan-based firm makes everything you might see in a professional setting: office chairs, workstations, conference tables, whiteboards and other business-y furnishings.

Although you might not recognize the company's name, its products are everywhere, and its bottom line proves it: Its fiscal year 2024 revenue totaled $3.2 billion. On April 2, the company introduced a new design of its Think office chair that infuses residential qualities (such as plush upholstery and warm-toned visual styles) "to meet the needs of the modern, hybrid worker."

"Prior to the pandemic, your workplace and your home looked and felt different from a color and material perspective," Kaitlyn Gillmor, Steelcase senior industrial designer, said about the new design in an April news release. "Those spaces are now blurred, so they need to provide a similar level of comfort."

Batesville

Batesville, a leader in the death care industry, landed at No. 22 this year after being unranked last year. The company, based in Batesville, Indiana, and founded in 1884, specializes in burial and cremation products and memorial keepsakes, but it also operates its Living Memorial tree-planting program.

Families who participate in the Living Memorial program receive a letter of condolence with a certificate acknowledging a tree will be planted in memory of a deceased loved one.

Started in 1976, the program is now responsible for the planting of 14.5 million trees. Batesville says it is one of the country's most impactful private reforestation initiatives and has helped re-establish parts of national forests and woodlands destroyed by forest fires and other natural disasters.

YETI

The No. 24 most trustworthy consumer goods company, YETI, a designer, retailer and distributor of outdoor-related products, was also absent from the 2023 list. Founded in 2006, it's a relatively young company compared to the others on the list, but its rise has been quick—its full-year 2023 sales totaled nearly $1.66 billion, up 4 percent from the previous year.

The range of YETI products is wide; it offers items like coolers, bags, buckets, blankets and dog bowls, all designed for outdoor use. Most unique, though, is its website's emphasis on outdoor-themed nonfiction articles about how to best tackle voyaging through faraway places, like "How to Pack for 10 Days on the Bering Sea" and "Mexico's Liquid Heritage," which is about the world of agave spirits.

Libbey

The next company on the list makes the sort of glassware that would be perfect for those kinds of mixed drinks. Libbey, which has been in business since 1818 and says it was the first company to use automatic machinery to produce lightbulbs, calls itself "the vanguard of artistry and innovation in glassmaking." Absent from the 2023 list, the company is now ranked at No. 25.

Besides glass bakeware, vases and dinner settings, the company makes drinkware for everyday uses, but its most interesting items are the glasses especially made for different drink categories—it offers margarita and whiskey glasses, and martini, beer and wine glasses of various bendy shapes.

All of it is made with an environmental focus that sees every piece started with about 30 percent pre-consumer recycled glass.

Mercury Marine

Mercury Marine, a company that was unranked last year that landed at No. 26 this year, makes propulsion equipment for motorboats, including engines, propellers and control displays. The company, which is a division of global boating behemoth Brunswick, has been making outboard motors since 1939. It lists its boating innovations on its website, including the release of the industry's first V10 outboard in 2022.

Last month, the company celebrated 50 years of its racing team, which hit the five-decade mark in 2023, by looking back at the previous year's festivities marking the anniversary. The culmination of the year was the June launch of the company's 500R engine, which it calls "the most powerful and technologically advanced outboard available for performance sport boats."

Tempur Sealy International

Tempur Sealy International, the self-proclaimed world's largest bedding provider, owns well-known brands like Tempur-Pedic and Stearns & Foster. This year, the bedroom juggernaut landed at No. 27 after being unranked in 2023. Tempur Sealy plans to become even larger in 2024: It expects to finalize its acquisition of retailer Mattress Firm in the second half of this year.

Besides acquiring Mattress Firm, which will continue as a multi-branded retailer post-closing, Tempur Sealy is also making moves in its products department this year.

In January, it announced its new Tempur-ActiveBreeze Smart Bed. The bed offers customizable climate programs that change its temperature to best suit each customer's sleep schedule. Additionally, the new ActiveBreeze Smart Bed will include relaxation programs—the company's WaveForm Massage and SoundScape features—that were introduced in 2023.

Warby Parker

Eyewear brand Warby Parker landed at the 29th spot on the ranking this year; it didn't appear at all last year.

Started in 2010, the company (which maintains 208 locations, according to its 2022 impact report) shows its good-natured side with its Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program that distributes a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair of glasses or sunglasses that the company sells. So far, the program has delivered more than 15 million pairs of glasses worldwide.

In 2019, the company established the Warby Parker Impact Foundation, a nonprofit with the mission of helping people overcome barriers preventing them from receiving quality eye care. The foundation advocates for legislative changes at the local, state, national and global level, and the company says it builds upon the efforts of its Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program.

Lifetime Brands

Lifetime Brands, which was ranked 33rd this year after being absent last year, is a maker of kitchenware, tableware and other products for use in the home. The company, founded in 1945, is responsible for such well-known brands as KitchenAid, Farberware and Sabatier.

Lifetime Brands specializes in products you don't realize you need until you see them. Its 2024 lookbook includes gadgets like an all-in-one cutting and charcuterie board that has space for preparation on one side and recessed compartments for arranging your items on the other. A "SnackleBox" takes a cue from tackle boxes with a single unit designed to easily transport a variety of foods. And the "Versatong" is like an ordinary pair of tongs except that the ends have "finger-like grabbers" made of silicone, intended for gripping food without breaking it.

Flexsteel

Furniture maker Flexsteel was ranked 34th this year after also being absent from last year's list. The Iowa-based company, which began as the Rolph & Ball Furniture Company in 1893, specializes in all sorts of home furnishings: living room, bedroom, kitchen and dining, and home office.

On March 27, the company announced that it was transforming its best-selling indoor Sky furniture collection into an outdoor set featuring weather-resistant sofas, chairs, ottomans and sectional pieces.

Beyond product innovations, the company also has sustainability-focused priorities, most recently demonstrated by a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation that aims to plant 13,000 trees in the southeastern U.S. by July of this year. The company has also made a longer commitment to plant a tree for every Flex sectional sold through the end of June 2025.

Freshpet

Sustainability is also a priority for No. 36 on the list, Freshpet, which didn't rank in 2023. The pet food maker (which says it delivers "food food"—as opposed to "dog food"—for four-legged consumers) boasts about its green achievements on its website, including its commitment to using renewable energy to make and store its offerings. That commitment resulted in the prevention of nearly 49,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions in 2022, according to the company.

Beyond its eponymous pet food, the company owns brands like Vital, Homestyle Creations and the all-plant Spring & Sprout. For its pet food brands, the company promises farm-fresh fruits and vegetables and high-quality proteins in meals that are steam-cooked "to lock in vital nutrients." The company also says the resulting pet meals undergo more than 20 quality and safety tests before leaving its kitchens.

Georgia-Pacific

Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific, one of the world's biggest manufacturers of paper- and forest-related products, landed at No. 37 this year after being unranked last year. The company owns brands like Quilted Northern, Angel Soft, Brawny and Dixie.

Everything about GP is huge. In 2023 alone, the company made about $2 billion in capital improvements that included completing a new facility in Tennessee and making upgrades at company locations in Wisconsin and Texas, among other projects reaching from South Carolina to Oregon.

The company, though, keeps responsible sourcing top of mind: Its 2023 Stewardship Report says more than 90 percent of the fresh fiber in its products is grown in the U.S., "where landowners employ best management practices to act as proper stewards of the forests, water, and biodiversity."

Neutrogena

Skincare brand Neutrogena was the final climber in the top 40, reaching No. 38 after being entirely unranked last year.

Rather uniquely among companies on this list, Neutrogena, which is a division of Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., has its own media studio that produces short films. Its website currently features "En Avant," about a Black ballerina struggling with self-acceptance in a white-dominated art form.

Beyond making its wide range of skin-focused products, the company also counts advocacy as one of its pillars by "championing skin care and skin science for all tones and types." It says 62 percent of U.S. adults face some form of skin health inequality. To help connect the right products with an individual's unique complexion, Neutrogena offers the Skin360 virtual skin analysis tool on its website, which uses an uploaded scan of a customer's face to recommend products and ingredients to reach their skincare goals.