In response to Nestle’s recent report which found evidence of human rights abuses and forced labour in its Thai seafood supply chains, Greenpeace’s Oceans Campaigner, Ariana Densham, said:
“Nestle is to be commended for taking the pretty remarkable step of speaking out publicly on labour and human rights abuses in its own seafood supply chain in Thailand.
“Nestle’s report, following a year-long investigation, states that there is an ‘endemic risk’ to virtually all European and American companies which source seafood from the region. And that’s borne out by the evidence: repeated investigations have shown that human trafficking, as well as forced and bonded labour, are all too often the modus operandi of the Thai seafood industry.
“Greenpeace’s recent campaigning has focused on Thai Union – the owner of John West in the UK – which sits at the centre of this murky industry. But while Nestle has committed to an action plan with concrete milestones and third party auditing in order to rid its supply chain of these heinous malpractices – we’ve had nothing but paper promises from Thai Union.
"Thiraphong Chansiri, CEO of Thai Union, has said: ‘We all have to admit that it is difficult to ensure the Thai seafood industry’s supply chain is 100% clean.’
“It is appalling that in the twenty-first century a company which supplies a fifth of the world’s tuna – through well-known brands like John West – thinks it can pay lip service to tackling human rights abuses, while continuing to excuse systemic abuses in its supply chains as though they were a fact of life.”
Notes to editors
- Greenpeace’s recent report – Supply Chained: Human rights abuses in the global tuna industry – highlights instances of human trafficking as well as forced and bonded labour in the tuna industry, and scrutinises Thai Union’s role in the industry
- Nestle is currently facing legal action in the US after pet food buyers filed a class-action lawsuitin August alleging Fancy Feast cat food was the product of “slave labour” associated with Thai Union Frozen Products (recently renamed Thai Union Group), a major distributor. This is just one of several lawsuits filed in recent months against major US retailers importing seafood from Thailand.
- Over a quarter of a million people from 57 countries have already joined Greenpeace’s call for Thai Union to take responsibility for its supply chains and commit to protecting both the oceans and the people who work on them.
For more information and interviews, contact Luke Massey – 07973 873 155 – luke.massey@greenpeace.org
