August 30, 2024– A series of lawsuits related to sustainability claims and eco-labels have changed the seafood industry’s approach to marketing sustainability bona fides, with lawsuits filed against Walmart, Mowi, Gorton’s, ALDI, Conagra, Bumble Bee Foods, and Red Lobster either pending or resorting to settlements.
The suits should be a wake-up call to the seafood industry that it needs to change its marketing practices, according to Arlin Wasserman, the founder and managing director of seafood industry consultancy Changing Tastes. Wasserman, who was previously the vice president of sustainability at foodservice provider Sodexo, said the suits have fundamentally altered the calculus of whether eco-labels are still worth using.