Many seafood products sold in New Zealand make environmental claims, but our new research shows most of them are too vague and could be an attempt at greenwashing.

We looked at the labels and environmental claims on packaged fish and seafood products in major New Zealand supermarkets, examining 369 products including canned tuna and other fish, vacuum-packed salmon and frozen fish and seafood.

Just under half of the products (41.2%) we examined made at least one self-declared environmental claim, such as “sustainable fishing,” “responsible fishing,” or “dolphin-friendly.”

Almost 80% of these claims were unclear and therefore contrary to international best practice and New Zealand Commerce Commission guidelines. They state that environmental claims must be specific so as not to mislead consumers, and mention the claim “dolphin friendly” as an example that should not be used.

However, we found 42 products available in New Zealand supermarkets that carry the ‘dolphin friendly’ or ‘dolphin safe’ label. Such hard-to-prove claims have the potential to mislead consumers into thinking they are buying products that are less harmful to the environment than they actually are.

Our results show that better enforcement of existing regulations and clearer labelling rules for fish and seafood products are needed to encourage transparency in fishing practices.

No information on fishing practices

Under New Zealand’s Fair Trading Act, seafood producers are prohibited from making misleading or unsubstantiated claims. However, they do not have to disclose the location or method of fishing (e.g. rod and line, midwater trawl, dredger).

We found that only about half of the products included information about where they were harvested, and less than 10% about the harvesting method. This means that consumers typically don’t know where or how their seafood was caught.

Requiring producers to declare where and how they catch fish would mean consumers could choose products that cause less environmental damage. It could also encourage companies to adopt better fishing practices.

Other countries are fighting greenwashing

A European Commission study has found that more than half of the environmental claims made by European Union (EU) products examined could be misleading.

As a result, the EU will now ban generic environmental claims that do not contain evidence. The EU is also proposing that companies will have to provide evidence for environmental claims and obtain prior approval before they can put the labels on their products.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) audited businesses and found that more than half of them made troubling environmental claims. The most common problem was vague claims such as “green”, “eco-friendly”, “responsible” or “sustainable”.

The ACCC is currently updating and developing targeted guidance and working with industry to improve practices.

In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority is conducting a review of consumer law compliance. They investigated environmental claims in the fashion sector and found that vague claims were common.

In response, three fashion companies that account for a significant share of UK fashion sales have formally agreed to avoid using vague terms such as “eco”, “responsible” and “sustainable”.

The authorities are currently investigating environmental claims related to food, beverages, cleaning products and toiletries. They are also revising and adapting their guidelines for companies on environmental claims.

Preventing Greenwashing in New Zealand

Greenwashing and vague claims make it difficult to monitor whether companies are actually making significant changes and improving their practices.

We need an independent investigation into claims of greenwashing (including claims of biodegradable or compostable packaging) across all New Zealand industries. This should include food and household products to understand the full scope of the problem.

Currently, consumers can complain about unclear claims to the Commerce Commission or Advertising Standards Authority. However, our finding that almost 80% of environmental claims for seafood products are unclear suggests that providing guidance is not enough and that it should not be left to consumers to complain.

We need proactive enforcement of existing Trade Commission guidelines and the Fair Trading Act to avoid confusing environmental claims being made on seafood, as well as products from other sectors.

This article is reprinted from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.