New Balance - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

New Balance is Medium Risk.

New Balance is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company elevates merit, excellence, and integrity ahead of race and identity-based policies. New Balance occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Lower Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Medium Risk
Employment Protection	Lower Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	No Data

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

New Balance has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

New Balance’s charitable giving guidelines require that organizations abide by its nondiscrimination policy including on the basis of sexual orientation, thereby excluding some religious charities (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

New Balance protects its employees against viewpoint discrimination (1).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

New Balance supports GLSEN’s Changing the Game Initiative, which “advanc[e] the acceptance of LGBTQIA+ youth in athletics” (1). In 2021, the company released a Pride Collection and a short film telling the story of the Front Runners New York Pride Run (2). It is a member of the UN’s Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, committed to net zero by 2050 (3)(4).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

From 2022 to 2025, New Balance will donate $600,000 to support GLSEN’s Changing the Game initiative. The company was also a sponsor of the Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run in 2022 (1). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (2).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

New Balance does not operate a PAC or report on its lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).