Amazon is facing a proposed class action accusing the retail giant of misleading shoppers about the environmental credentials of seafood sold through its platform.
The lawsuit, filed in a Seattle federal court on 31 July, alleges that product descriptions using terms such as “dolphin safe”, “responsibly sourced”, “sustainable” and “wild caught” led consumers to believe the products caused minimal harm to oceans and the wider environment.
Claimants argued that the representations were either unsubstantiated or materially false, citing limited public tracking of fishing vessels and cases in which vessels allegedly disable their electronic transponders to conceal their locations.
The legal action targets dozens of tuna, salmon and other seafood products sold under brands including Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea and StarKist, as well as Amazon’s own 365 by Whole Foods Market range. The manufacturers behind the third-party brands have not been named as defendants.
Plaintiffs Madeleine Rogow and Adam Sorkin claimed they would not have purchased the products, or would have paid less for them, had Amazon provided what they described as a more accurate account of their sustainability credentials.
The proposed class action seeks compensatory and punitive damages, alongside restitution for US consumers, over alleged breaches of Washington state consumer-protection laws.
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