Greenpeace is campaigning against Thai Union to demand the company take steps to eliminate labor abuse and destructive, wasteful fishing practices. Thai Union has been implicated in New York Times and Associated Press investigations on forced labor and human rights abuses.
The collapsed Bumble Bee sale leaves Chicken of the Sea as Thai Union’s major brand presence in the U.S. market.
In response to today’s announcement, Greenpeace USA Oceans Campaigner Kate Melges said:
“Thai Union’s retreat from the Bumble Bee tuna sale is good news for consumers globally. Thai Union has been linked to far too many serious labor abuses and destructive fishing practices to be taking on new brands without sorting out its existing problems. It is high time Thai Union cleans up its supply chains and uses its huge purchasing power to stamp out labor abuses and destructive fishing from the Thai fishing industry.
“There are also concerns about Bumble Bee’s reliance on destructive fishing practices and cheap labor. Now that the company is back on the market, the brand’s current owner, Lion Capital, should step in without delay to improve the company’s environmental and social performance. Without significant improvements to Bumble Bee’s supply chains, to weed out wasteful and destructive fishing, any sale is a risk to investors.
“If Thai Union is committed to the North American market as it claims to be, it needs to ensure it is supplying consumers with a better product than Chicken of the Sea, which is also currently implicated in Thai Union’s tainted supply chains.”
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Contacts:
Perry Wheeler, Greenpeace USA Media Officer, P: +1 301 675 8766 or [email protected]
Wiriya Kingwatcharapong, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Communications and Digital Manager, [email protected]
