Some people might consider e.l.f. Beauty to be just another affordable line of beauty products. But to e.l.f.’s worldwide customers, the brand stands for sustainability, inclusivity, and women’s empowerment—values that are signified by its recent partnerships with U.S. Paralympic swimmer Anastasia Pagonis, tennis champion and social activist Billie Jean King, and social entrepreneur Amanda Nguyen.

In June 2024, e.l.f. streamed a live event on Twitch in which CMO Kory Marchisotto and CFO Mandy Fields talked to the brand’s fans about e.l.f. Beauty’s Change the Board Game initiative, a campaign to advocate for more diverse boards of directors. More than 18,000 viewers participated and many asked for career advice.

“That was a signal to me that said e.l.f. means something so much more to all of these people, than, ‘we're here to sell you a product,’ ” Marchisotto says. “The advocacy and evangelism for the brand comes out of our system of beliefs. The more we showcase and wear our heart on our sleeve, the more people love, support and advocate on our behalf.”

In other words, the positive brand and consumer relationship build upon each other. And it’s this dynamic and dedication helped e.l.f Beauty rise from No. 40 last year to No. 27 on this year’s Forbes' Best Brands for Social Impact 2025.

To produce the third-annual Social Impact list, Forbes partnered with data insights company HundredX, which surveys consumers on their perceptions of a brand’s values, social stances, sustainability and community support. The final list of 300 relied on more than 4.4 million consumer ratings across 3,900 brands. The list’s top three have remained remarkably consistent over the three years: H-E-B rose to No. 1 this year after placing third twice; last year’s best, REI slipped one spot to No. 2; and Subaru, the runner-up in 2023 and 2024, slid one spot to No. 3—which underscores how those companies remain elite in customers’ belief in the brands.

Other brands rose markedly. Cadillac, for example, rose from No. 76 last year to No. 45. And Columbia, the sportswear brand, moved up from No. 77 to No. 31.Rob Pace, the CEO of HundredX, says the brands with the best customer feedback weave their social impact initiatives into their business in a way that’s recognizable and tangible to customers.

“If you're just giving money to causes that aren't embedded in your business,” Pace says, “it doesn't seem to resonate nearly as powerfully.” The current debates regarding DEI initiatives suggest that brands’ social stances might impact the bottom line. “This isn't something that's independent of their business,” says Pace. “As we go through this current cycle, how companies navigate that is going to dramatically influence reputations, likely for years to come.”

For Birkenstock, which rose from No. 44 last year to No. 22, prioritizing sustainability is key. Founded in 1774, Birkenstock is well known for footwear made of natural, durable materials that don’t become landfill after a few years. One respondent to the survey shared that theirs lasted decades: “I have some Birkenstock’s that are more than 30 years old, re-corked and still serving as great footwear!”

Jochen Gutzy, the company’s chief communications officer, says Birkenstock’s own vertically integrated manufacturing operations give the company “full control over the quality, safety and environmental impact of every pair” they make. More than 90 percent of the materials and components, he says, are sourced in Europe, which upholds some of the strictest environmental standards in the world. The company’s newest factory in Pasewalk, Germany, is designed with a green roof—an architectural feature that appears to be a small but growing trend in the country—and significantly powered by renewable energy.

Coming in at No. 9, after a No. 10 finish last year, Mary Kay supports women’s causes around the world: it provides scholarships to minority women pursuing STEM careers and partners with non-profit industry associations like the Global Shea Alliance, which provides economic ascent to women in the shea-butter manufacturing belt in West Africa. The Mary Kay Ash Foundation donates millions of dollars to cancer research and humanitarian agencies dedicated to ending domestic violence. To date, the company has invested roughly $230 million in global charitable programs and partnerships that impact the lives of millions of women, says Lucy Gildea, Mary Kay’s chief brand and scientific officer. The company also partners with The Nature Conservancy, which first concentrated on protecting the Gulf wetlands in the company’s home state of Texas and now extends to global projects restoring coral reefs and improving ocean biodiversity.

Sprouts Farmers Market (No. 34, up from No. 58) is an Arizona-based grocery chain that has impressed consumers by offering a wide selection of affordable organic and sustainably-sourced food. “I love their bulk section and their promotional sales,” one customer wrote in the survey. “I love the selection of organic, vegan and sustainably sourced dairy options.”

Sprouts offers various grants to its community, such as the Growing Healthy Kids Grant, designed to teach families how to grow and cook healthy food; and a Healthy Communities Grant to help food access or nutrition education non-profits scale. Sprouts also recently expanded its partnership with IFCO, a worldwide provider of reusable packaging, which is projected to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 600 metric tons and save about 600,000 pounds of solid waste from landfills in the next year.

Bass Pro Shops, which rose from No. 59 last year to No. 28, works with 250 land- and wildlife-conservation organizations to protect ecosystems across the U.S., and has dedicated 10 percent of the company’s earnings to such efforts over the past decade. The company also raises millions for disaster relief charities that help victims rebuild after hurricanes and wildfires, and partners with Helping a Hero, an organization that builds customized, accessible homes for wounded veterans.

The brand aims to educate the public about wildlife and the outdoors in general, especially those who might not have access to the wilderness. A popular program at Bass Pro allows fishers to trade in their old rods and reels for a discount toward new equipment; the older gear is refurbished and donated to youth organizations to teach kids how to fish. Since the program started in 2015, more than 500,000 rods and reels have been donated.

“We believe deeply in the healing power of nature,” says Dylan Paulsen, Bass Pro’s chief operating officer of marketing and CLUB loyalty program. “When we can get kids to put down the screens and pick up the fishing pole for the day, we think it's going to make the world a better place.”

Methodology

Created in partnership with the customer-insights company HundredX, the Best Brands for Social Impact list derives from a wide-ranging online survey, conducted from March 2024 through February 2025, that asked 165,000 consumers to rate brands and products in more than a dozen categories, including quality, value, customer service and more. Four specific categories were considered for the Social Impact list: overall brand values and trust, social stances, sustainability and community support. More than 4.4 million ratings were received in the survey overall, with more than 3,900 unique brands reviewed. The top 300 brands made the list.

Respondents freely nominated brands they used and wanted to review, ensuring that these were products they had sincere feelings about. Only brands that were based in the U.S. (such as Nike) or that do significant business in the U.S. (such as Nintendo) were eligible. As with all Forbes lists, companies pay no fee to participate or be selected.

For questions about this list, please contact listdesk [at] Forbes.com.