Why Are Eco Friendly Labels Trending?

Eco friendly labels have become more popular in recent years because consumers have learned more about non sustainable seafood.

For example, a simple walk down your seafood isle and you might find yourself asking is this seafood wild or farmed? Is it local of imported? If farmed, was it grown in an environmentally friendly way? Is it high in mercury? Or tainted by the fisheries farms with antibiotics and chemicals?

These are the questions that arise in consumers minds in the past years more than ever and could be the main reason that eco friendly stickers on labels are trending.

This creates a demand for certification and guidance programs for seafood. These new seafood certifications create a new seafood label that consumers can search for in the stores. By looking for the unique sustainable seafood logo, consumers can make sure they are buying and supporting sustainable seafood. What does this logo look like? Keep reading we will explain a few below. 

What is non-sustainable seafood? Any seafood that is not wild, not traceable, or not sustainable. This includes many species like fish, lobster, oysters, clams, shellfish and other ocean life.

 

Sustainable Seafood with MSC

 

Organizations like the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) work to support sustainable fishing and seafood by science.

The important ideas for sustainable fishing are:

1. Traceable – This means all seafood must be 100% traceable to the known source. Fishing in a low fish populated area of the sea can have detrimental effects on the surrounding ocean life, which can further hurt more ocean life creating a domino fall effect.
2. Sustainable – Is there enough seafood and fish left in this spot of the ocean? The seafood is purchased from responsible certified fisheries that practice sustainable fishing.
3. Responsible - This means to support certified fisheries who care about fish and seafood populations. They are not harvesting at-risk species, and follow the TAC (total allowable catch) regulatory efforts.

 

From the sea, to the supply chain, to your dinner plate, MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) ensures that all seafood are tracked from their original destination in the ocean, to your local food grocery store.

Even major nationwide commercial chain and seafood restaurants like Red Lobster support the World Wildlife Fund and sustainable fishing.

This means that the seafood fisherman for Red Lobster do not catch egg-bearing or undersize fish and lobster. This allows the population of seafood to keep growing at the maximum potential.

Regular DNA testing shows that seafood labels with the MSC logo on it are correctly labeled, with accurate seafood information labeling. This means that you can trust that your seafood is what the seafood label says it is.

The MSC certification is the only wild-capture fisheries certification and ecolabeling program that is approved by both the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) and ISEAL.

The State of Lousiana, The Louisiana Department of Health, just passed a new seafood law that resturants must tell their customers where the seafood came from. If the seafood came from a different country, there must be a label telling customers that: “Certain crawfish and shrimp originate from a foreign country."

• The sign must be at least 18 inches tall and 18 inches wide, written in English.
• Lettering must not be less than 1 inch in size.
• The sign must be posted in a conspicuous location not less than 36 inches from the floor.

Friend of the Sea

Friend of the sea is a non-profit, non-government organization (NGO) working to protect marine habitats. Seafood products labeled with this logo come from sustainable seafood fisheries and aquaculture where the harvesting of seafood does not impact or damage the surrounding environment.

Sustainable Seafood with GSSI

The marine Stewardship Council is not the only organization and certification program for sustainable seafood. There is also the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI).

Incorrect Seafood Labeling

Many times flexible seafood packaging will have labels that incorrectly label that type of seafood. This means that those fish and seafood did not come from a sustainable fishery.

“Misrepresentation drives consumers to buy products which are less than what they thought they were paying for and at the expense of legally caught and honestly labeled seafood provided by trustworthy vendors. Imposing a legal obligation upon all links in the supply chain to maintain the integrity of seafood labeling and accurately represent the underlying product protects consumers and legitimate suppliers alike.

Dane Chauvel – President: Organic Ocean Seafood Inc”

 

More Eco Friendly Information on Seafood Labels

For a list of more sustainable seafood companies and products you can see them here.

 

Eco Friendly Labels & Materials

The other side to eco friendly labels has a different meaning, but uses the same word, ‘eco friendly labels’.

 Instead of saving the oceans and seafood, eco-friendly labels can also mean printing custom labels in a more efficient, green process. These custom label materials are produced to be environmentally friendly from day one of production.

Eco friendly labels are becoming more popular with consumers who print custom labels. Why? The main reason is to reduce waste and pollution on earth. The conscious of a consumer polluting the earth because of an action they did, for example by purchasing something, is starting to register more and more everyday with consumers. 

With climate change on the rise, high air pollution in Los Angeles, and the ocean sea level rising, citizens and corporations have been trying to slow down or stop pollution worldwide.

Once solution for many label printers and sticker companies is to use more eco friendly label materials. By reducing pollution at every step of the production process you can make great gains in being a green company.