Whether you have salmon or the classic shrimp ring on your holiday shopping list – buying ‘green’ with confidence can be a challenge thanks to misleading claims.
This year saw a wave of greenwashing challenges and human rights exposés in seafood markets across the globe. Many of which involved seafood certifications:
For farmed seafood, the greenwashing of salmon farmed in open net pens continues to be called out worldwide. Earlier this year, SeaChoice led a global alliance of more than 80 groups calling for the Best Aquaculture Practices and GLOBALG.A.P. certifications to remove their endorsement of salmon farms that are contributing to the decline of the endangered Maugean skate. It was followed up with a formal complaint, regarding the product being sold to consumers as ‘responsibly sourced’, to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
A greenwashing complaint has also been filed in the U.K. over the Scottish farmed salmon industry’s claims of ‘sustainable’. It follows a review of farmed salmon certifications, including the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, in Scottish farms that found they failed to live up to their claims.
It’s a familiar story in Canada: check out our guide on how farmed salmon certifications stack up.
Wild seafood certifications have also been in the hot seat. In the USA, major seafood brands that utilize the Marine Stewardship Council certification are facing class-action lawsuits over their sustainability claims; and in Europe, a grocer was served a formal notice over their source of canned tuna which includes MSC certified fisheries.
The shortcomings of certifications aren’t limited to environmental claims either. A recent investigation exposed the shortcomings of certifications in addressing human rights concerns. Shockingly, all seafood plants found to be using Uyghur forced labour from Xinjiang were certified by the MSC and ASC.
While not all eco-certified seafood is greenwashing (some of it can be a good choice), the growing number of complaints and exposés highlights that consumers are all too often shopping in the dark – unaware of the limitations and/or omissions that can sometimes occur with eco-certifications and their associated claims.
It also suggests grocers and companies have become over reliant on certifications for meeting their seafood sustainability commitments. This over reliance can make companies vulnerable to criticisms and brand risk. It further highlights the need for grocers and companies to go beyond seafood certifications to ensure their claims are accurate and justified. Companies need to also ensure due diligence is taken to identify, prevent and take action when/if adverse impacts (e.g., slave labour, endangered species risk) occur within their supply chain. In other words, companies shouldn’t rely on certified products as a ‘get out of jail free card’ to avoid their own roles in greenwashing and due diligence.
SeaChoice has been advocating for grocers and seafood brands to go beyond certifications. Our Seafood Progress platform scores grocers and companies for taking meaningful actions to improve unsustainable seafood products – beyond simply sourcing certified seafood. We also score them on how accurate and credible their sustainability claims are. While some companies have made progress, much work remains.
So how can you try to avoid the greenwash these holidays? Consumer guides such as Ocean Wise are helpful. Choose unsung heroes that may not normally get the holiday love on our dinner plates – but are just as delicious and are inherently more sustainable such as farmed shellfish and seaweed. And for wild seafood, buy directly off your local fisher if you can (the Local Catch Network map can help).
May your holidays – and seafood – be truly green this season!
