As a point of comparison, we don't talk about "ethical plumbing" as a term. If a company hires a plumber to fix their bathroom, they're just a plumber. If somebody breaks the law to enter a place and mess with the pipes, they're just a trespasser.
But the companies that brand themselves as selling "ethical" penetration testing, and sell certifications for "ethical hacking" would very much like you to lump other companies and other security researchers who are operated legally into the same mental bucket as criminals by implicitly painting them as "unethical".
But the companies that brand themselves as selling "ethical" penetration testing, and sell certifications for "ethical hacking" would very much like you to lump other companies and other security researchers who are operated legally into the same mental bucket as criminals by implicitly painting them as "unethical".