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Amazon vs Costco

On overall TruNorth grade, Costco scores higher (Amazon: F, Costco: B). Both graded from public records across nine values categories.

F
Amazon
39.1/100
B
Costco
59.1/100

Political donations

Amazon

FEC: $88K PAC donations; 46% to Republican, 54% to Democratic committees. [CA CalAccess + NY COELIG + TX Ethics adds state-level totals.] [FollowTheMoney.org adds state-level totals.]

Costco

FEC: $336K in executive political donations; partisan lean split across 16 executive donors.

Environment

Amazon

environmental violation: $10.3M in federal penalties (Violation Tracker).

Costco

EPA SmartWay partner — commits to measure + reduce freight transportation emissions. JUST Capital JUST 100 — ranked #97 of Russell 1000 (2025) for treatment of workers, customers, communities, environment. CDP A-List (2024) — top tier for climate disclosure and emissions-reduction action. Held by 4 ESG/SRI fund(s) (calvert, parnassus, trillium, vanguard-esg) — investor-screen positive signal.

Labor

Amazon

177 federal penalties totaling $2.8B since 2000 (Violation Tracker). Supply-chain signals: KnowTheChain 33/100; CHRB 9.4/26; UK MS statement; AU MS statement.

Costco

104 federal penalties totaling $98.3M since 2000 (Violation Tracker).

DEI

Amazon

HRC Corporate Equality Index: 100/100 — Equality 100 Leader (2025). Top-rated LGBTQ+ workplace policies, benefits, and culture. JUST Capital JUST 100 — ranked #47 of Russell 1000 (2025) for treatment of workers, customers, communities, environment. HRC Corporate Equality Index 100/100 (2025) — top-tier LGBTQ+ workplace equality rating.

Costco

HRC Corporate Equality Index: 85/100 (2025) — strong LGBTQ+ workplace policies with minor deductions. JUST Capital JUST 100 — ranked #97 of Russell 1000 (2025) for treatment of workers, customers, communities, environment. HRC Corporate Equality Index 85/100 (2025) — top-tier LGBTQ+ workplace equality rating.

Charity

Amazon

$920M reported corporate giving in 2024 (~0.16% of revenue). JUST Capital JUST 100 — ranked #47 of Russell 1000 (2025) for treatment of workers, customers, communities, environment. Drucker Institute Management Top 250 — ranked #3 (2024) on customer satisfaction, employee engagement, innovation, social responsibility, and financial strength. Fortune World's Most Admired Companies — ranked #3 (2024).

Costco

$80M reported corporate giving in 2024 (~0.03% of revenue). JUST Capital JUST 100 — ranked #97 of Russell 1000 (2025) for treatment of workers, customers, communities, environment. Drucker Institute Management Top 250 — ranked #26 (2024) on customer satisfaction, employee engagement, innovation, social responsibility, and financial strength. Fortune World's Most Admired Companies — ranked #8 (2024). Newsweek Most Trustworthy Companies in America — ranked #7 (2024).

Animal testing

Amazon

Animal Equality campaign on Amazon Whole Foods + private-label egg sourcing transparency. [Animal Equality target]

Costco

BBFAW 2024 Tier 5 — limited disclosure of farm-animal welfare programmes. Open Wing Alliance: At risk — Kirkland Signature US shell-egg cage-free transition behind schedule. [BBFAW Tier 5 · Cage-free at risk · MSC certified · ASC certified]

Firearms

Amazon

No federal firearms license on record for this company in the ATF FFL registry — no licensed firearms dealing or manufacturing.

Costco

No federal firearms license on record for this company in the ATF FFL registry — no licensed firearms dealing or manufacturing.

Privacy

Amazon

Common Sense Privacy: Warning rating across 2 product(s) (Amazon Alexa, Prime Video) — does not meet minimum data-protection safeguards.

Costco

Costco publishes a detailed privacy policy offering consumers opt-out rights, data deletion, and a Consumer Health Data Privacy Notice stating it does not sell consumer health data; however, two federal class action lawsuits filed in October 2023 (Castillo et al. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., No. 2:23-cv-01548, and R.S. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., W.D. Wash.) allege Costco secretly used Meta Pixel on its pharmacy webpages to transmit patients' sensitive health information—including prescriptions, HIV status, and insurance details—to Meta, Google, and other third parties without consent, in alleged violation of HIPAA and federal/state wiretapping laws; a federal court largely allowed the case to proceed in November 2024.

Executive pay

Amazon

No public record found.

Costco

CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio 283:1 (median employee pay $49,186) — SEC proxy statement (DEF 14A, 2025).

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