{"id":49124,"date":"2026-07-31T20:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T18:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stocks-future.com\/?guid=6fcbd658145271244d0fcf74d82850a3"},"modified":"2026-07-31T20:59:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T18:59:00","slug":"hagens-berman-consumers-sue-amazon-alleging-phony-seafood-sustainability-and-greenwashing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/?p=49124","title":{"rendered":"Hagens Berman: Consumers Sue Amazon Alleging Phony Seafood Sustainability and Greenwashing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Attorneys say the country\u2019s second largest grocer uses green marketing to mask allegedly illegal, unregulated fishing behind seafood products including 365 by Whole Foods Market, Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea and more<\/i><\/p><\/a><\/a>

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--$AMZN<\/a> #Amazon<\/a>--A class-action lawsuit accuses Amazon.com Inc. of knowingly misleading the public about the environmental and ecological sustainability of its seafood products<\/a>, according to Hagens Berman attorneys.<\/p>

The complaint states that affected brands include 365 by Whole Foods Market, Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea, StarKist and more.<\/p>

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on July 31, 2026, and accuses Amazon of marketing numerous seafood products sold on its platform using environmental and ecological representations that products are \u201cdolphin safe,\u201d \u201csustainable,\u201d \u201cresponsibly sourced,\u201d \u201ctraceable,\u201d and \u201cMSC [Marine Stewardship Council] Certified Sustainable Seafood,\u201d a pay-for-play certification model.<\/p>

Taken together, Amazon gives consumers the net impression that its seafood products cause minimal harm to our oceans, to marine life and the environment \u2013 an impression that, the lawsuit claims, is at best unsubstantiated and, at worst, materially false. Amazon allegedly markets to and knowingly deceives consumers who are trying to make an informed and responsible choice to put their money towards fisheries and manufacturers that do right by our planet.<\/p>

If you purchased seafood via Amazon, find out more about the lawsuit and your consumer rights.<\/a><\/p>

\u201cThe evidence shows that Amazon\u2019s marketing of its seafood products is consumer deception, hook, line and sinker, and preys upon the hopes of millions of consumers that their dollars support sustainability,\u201d said Steve Berman, managing partner and co-founder of Hagens Berman. \u201cOur complaint also alleges that Amazon\u2019s use of MSC\u2019s certification is a sham, essentially involving bribery between fisheries and auditors to stamp their cans with a meaningless label. We believe Amazon uses the same false information to mislead its customers.\u201d<\/p>

Selling Faux Sustainability<\/b><\/p>

According to the lawsuit, Amazon has invested significant resources to courting environmentally and ecologically conscious shoppers and its marketing states \u201csustainability isn\u2019t a separate initiative\u2014it\u2019s core to how Amazon operates.\u201d<\/p>

The lawsuit states that Amazon's alleged conduct also runs afoul of the Federal Trade Commission's Green Guides, which warn marketers against making unqualified environmental benefit claims and emphasize that environmental certifications and seals may communicate broad environmental benefits to consumers.<\/p>

\u201cAmazon's own environmental marketing policies likewise require environmental claims to be truthful, substantiated, and not misleading,\u201d the lawsuit states, highlighting the retailer\u2019s hypocrisy. \u201cAmazon nevertheless markets the Greenwashed Seafood Products using broad sustainability messaging without providing disclosures necessary to prevent consumer deception.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cAmazon\u2019s behavior doesn\u2019t even comport with the standards to which it holds third parties selling on its platform,\u201d Berman said.<\/p>

\u201cThe consequences of Amazon\u2019s conduct are substantial,\u201d according to the lawsuit. \u201c\u2026Amazon deprives consumers of the ability to make informed purchasing decisions and causes them to pay a premium for products they otherwise would not have purchased, or for which they would have paid less.\u201d<\/p>

The lawsuit spotlights the ecological impact of Amazon\u2019s alleged behavior, stating, \u201cAmazon never discloses that the Greenwashed Seafood Products are MSC certified but that the MSC certifies fisheries that do not routinely practice sustainable fishing methods,\u201d adding that they engage in substantial bycatch, destructive gear use, dredging and bottom trawl fishing and labor abuses.<\/p>

Murky Waters<\/b><\/p>

The lawsuit states that Amazon fails to disclose certain truths in the fishing industry that obscure traceability and environmental impact. The lawsuit describes that most fishing vessels \u2014 upwards of 76% \u2014 are not publicly tracked and frequently disable transponders, obscuring potential involvement in illegal or unregulated fishing.<\/p>

Amazon also does not disclose that traceability is not synonymous with sustainability, the lawsuit states, adding that a sizable portion of imported wild-caught seafood is harvested using legally dubious fishing methods and thus, neither responsibly nor sustainably sourced.<\/p>

The complaint states that these factors compounded with Amazon\u2019s use of the MSC certification amount to violations of Washington state consumer protection laws that dictate misrepresentation and concealment. The lawsuit seeks repayment for consumers who would not have purchased the affected seafood had they known the alleged truth of its lack of sustainability. Hagens Berman also seeks injunctive relief barring Amazon from continuing the behavior in question.<\/p>

Find out more about the lawsuit against Amazon related to its sale of seafood that fails to meet touted environmental sustainability practices.<\/a><\/p>

About Hagens Berman<\/b><\/a><\/p>

Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation law firm with a tenacious drive for achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. Since its founding in 1993, the firm's determination has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of \"Most Feared Plaintiff's Firm,\" MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw<\/a>.<\/p>

Attorney advertising.<\/p> Contacts<\/b>

Media Contact<\/b>Ash Klannpr@hbsslaw.com<\/a>206-268-9363<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Attorneys say the country\u2019s second largest grocer uses green marketing to mask allegedly illegal, unregulated fishing behind seafood products including 365 by Whole Foods Market, Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea and moreSEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$AMZN #A…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-infos-businesswire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=49124"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49125,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49124\/revisions\/49125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=49124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=49124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stocks-future.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=49124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}