New rules prompt eco-labels to update their claims, but the greenwash continues

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) product logos and claims on seafood are set to change. It’s unlikely you’ll notice it, but perhaps that’s the aim. Yet behind the updated labels remains the potential for hidden human rights and environmental harms.  

In preparation for slightly tighter European greenwashing rules (aka the EU Empowering Consumers Directive) coming into effect this September, MSC and ASC certifications have made slight changes to their claims. While the claim “responsibly sourced” has been removed from the ASC-certified label altogether, with a makeover to boot, the MSC has opted to keep its “sustainable seafood” label claim, with a tweak to the back-of-package text that notes the MSC claim refers to ‘environmental’ sustainability.  

While these changes are supposed to address greenwashing, in reality, they don’t. 

Greenwashing criticisms of MSC-certified fisheries persist, with the latest targeting Antarctic krill fisheries. These keystone species sustain the fragile Southern Ocean ecosystem, providing services ranging from carbon sequestration to vital food sources for whales, penguins, and seabirds.  

Meanwhile, new research has revealed serious abuses of fishers’ human rights, including forced labour, human trafficking, and more, on vessels linked to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified seafood. The report, Slipping Through the Net: Labour Abuses in MSC-Certified Fisheries, by the International Transport Workers’ Union, identified 80 cases of labour abuses onboard 72 fishing vessels harvesting MSC-certified seafood between 2019 and 2025.  

This is not the first time the MSC has been accused of “fair washing”. Over the years, numerous exposés have uncovered the hidden reality that seafood produced under forced-labour conditions continues to enter the retail market, in part because companies' sourcing practices over-rely on certifications. In March, SeaChoice joined allies at the Seafood Working Group in a letter to companies calling for them to cease relying on MSC certification.  

Without real changes that result in truly sustainable aquaculture or fishery management practices and protect fishers’ rights, changes to claims are not worth the labels they are printed on. 

Photo by Paul Einerhand on Unsplash