Comments on: Trader Joes: How Not to Approach Sustainability

By: What’s going on at Trader Joe’s? Some very good things. - the customer experience for profit blog

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 02:29:05 +0000

[...] Outside the Fortune article, you may have seen criticism like this article outlining concerns with the company’s fish sourcing practices on sustainability [...]

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:45:45 +0000

Trader Joe’s is the most environmentally responsible store as well as being the most health conscious. The encouragement of customers to use canvas bags instead of paper or plastic started with TJs. The elimination of the use of plastic bags has been a company policy for years. The elimination of chemical preservatives in their food has been a company policy. Seafood is a two-edged issue. Farm raised fish have for the most part been proved to have been raised in some pretty unhealthy situations. What has Greenpeace done to make sure that farm raised fish are raised in a clean environment? There is a reason why knowledgeable consumers want wild salmon versus farm raised salmon for instance. If Greenpeace were truly objective they would get their collective environmental egos out of the discussion and concentrate on what is actually occuring at Trader Joe’s and in other markets.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:38:25 +0000

There is no more environmentally protective store than Trader Joe’s. TJs was the first store to offer canvas bags to replace paper bags and no plastic bags. Check the product labels for the quality of their products versus other name brands. Preservative chemicals are at an absolute minimum or non-existent. Is Greenpeace addressing the fact that many farm raised fish are raised in putrid conditions. Is Greenpeace concerned about the health of people as well as sustaining wild fish?

By: Me

Me — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:40:08 +0000

OK, so Trader Joe’s responded…what now? They apparently have a policy now. Will GreenPeace call off the witch hunt? Shouldn’t they be attacking the other major chains that don’t have a policy or scored lower on the card?
I actually loved Moderate1′s comment.
Trader Joe’s most likely ignored GreenPeace because they are – well, GreenPeace – and GreenPeace got their panties in a wad about it.
All of this talk about Corporate Values, and no mention of the Corporate Values that Trader Joe’s actually DOES incorporate (which are the reasons that the company has been so successful).
So, now that they have made their statement, what does GreenPeace have to cry about?

By: Chris Kaiser

Chris Kaiser — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:10:59 +0000

Dan,
Here is the latest from their website:
“To continue in our efforts to support this goal, we intend to use the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s science-based and research-backed “Seafood Watch” recommendations to help with our seafood purchasing decisions.
When we do offer seafood species on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch “red” or “avoid” list, we undertake additional steps to fully understand the ways in which those items come to market to be sure they fit with our customers’ needs and concerns. We’re also evaluating alternatives to those red list species.”
So, they do sell some Red List fish, but I dont know which. But honestly, I dont think that is the point. The point is, I’m fairly certain they just put up that statement after Greenpeace’s campaign.
To me, the bigger issue is not the validity of Greenpeace’s campaign, but the fact that Trader Joe’s only communicated their effort after they had so much negative attention.

By: Dan Wylie-Sears

Dan Wylie-Sears — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:13:14 +0000

I was looking for fact-checking. Does TJ sell the species that Greenpeace claims they do? Do they have decent labeling of the fish or not?

By: Chris Kaiser

Chris Kaiser — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:53:09 +0000

Some Trader Joe’s fan,
But here is the question:
Would Trader Joe’s have made this statement:
“To continue in our efforts to support this goal, we intend to use the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s science-based and research-backed “Seafood Watch” recommendations to help with our seafood purchasing decisions.”
Without all the focus of Greenpeace, would Trader Joe’s have made the effort?
Again, I think the biggest failure on Trader Joe’s behalf is not that they were operating un-sustainably, but that they weren’t communicating to their customers what their sustainable seafood policy was.
How long was the quote you pulled from their website on there? Did they put it up in response to Greenpeace?
If so, I would say Greenpeace accomplished their mission of encouraging Trader Joe’s to establish and communicate their sustainable seafood policy to the public!

By: Some Trader Joe's Fan

Some Trader Joe's Fan — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:18:33 +0000

I’ve talked to people at Trader Joe’s about this, and here is the other side of the story…
Trader Joe’s does not respond to surveys of any kind, and did not return the survey about the seafood they sell to greenpeace. As a result, greenpeace is acting on information that is sketchy at best.
For example of the 15 fish on the “red list” that TJ’s allegedly sells, there are no less than 5 that I know for a fact they do not sell:
Trader Joe’s DOES NOT carry
Chilean Sea Bass
Ocean Quahog
RedfishMonkfish
Alaskan Pollock
In fact, according to TJ’s, they carry fewer greenpeace “red list” fish than the #1 rated store in the “study”
And finally from Horses mouth, this is straight off Trader Joe’s website:
1. A Note to Our Customers About Trader Joe’s Seafood
As we’ve often mentioned, we listen to our customers. Hearing recent feedback, our goal is to offer seafood options that fit customer needs ranging from food safety and taste, to concern over the environment.
This is not a new development for us. For example, we stopped selling Chilean Sea Bass in 2005 because of customer feedback.
To continue in our efforts to support this goal, we intend to use the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s science-based and research-backed “Seafood Watch” recommendations to help with our seafood purchasing decisions.
When we do offer seafood species on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch “red” or “avoid” list, we undertake additional steps to fully understand the ways in which those items come to market to be sure they fit with our customers’ needs and concerns. We’re also evaluating alternatives to those red list species.
As with all the decisions we make about the products we offer, this is an ongoing process. We look forward to sharing our progress with our customers.

By: Deborah Fleischer

Deborah Fleischer — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:12:48 +0000

Despite the fact that Wegman’s (ranked #1 by Greenpeace) has a sustainable fish policy, is actively involved with the key initiatives and does an ok job at labeling, they still sell exactly the same amount of red listed fish as Trader Joe’s (15 of the 22 listed). That begs the question, what will it take to move the industry to actually take some real action? I think Trader Joe’s got targeted for two reasons: 1. They are a large national brand that can bring attention to this issue and 2. They have not actively participated in any of the key stakeholder initiatives, nor have they developed a formal policy and they do not do a good job at labeling their seafood, thus making them an ideal target.

By: Moderate1

Moderate1 — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:20:38 +0000

Maybe TJ’s just doesn’t think of Greenpeace as a legitimate entity they need to respond to. Seems rational.

By: Chris Kaiser

Chris Kaiser — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:58:51 +0000

Hayley,
I think your misunderstanding the point of the article. It’s not about “patting themselves on the back”. We’re not giving out brownie points here.
It’s about promoting sustainability, specifically sustainable fishing. If it is indeed true that they sell less Red List fish than the number one store, then that is great, but that just might be out of chance (i.e. their customers dont buy that kind of fish) and not part of any policy.
The fact is, because Trader Joes hasnt come out and said what their sustainble fishing policy is, we DONT KNOW.
So I go back to the perception vs. reality question. You can say that they definitely DO what is right, but how do their customers know that when they dont tell people what they DO in regards to their sustainable seafood policy?
And I did leave an inquiry on their website and never heard anything back.

By: Jon Gelbard

Jon Gelbard — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:45:46 +0000

Interesting — and I thought from the title that this was going to be about all the absurdly excessive plastic packaging of Trader Joe’s produce and frozen and to-go meals…

By: Hayley

Hayley — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:55:47 +0000

I think the fact that “Trader Joe’s sells fewer items on that “Red List” than the #1 ranked grocery retailer in [the greenpeace] report” says a lot about Trader Joes. They’re not big on patting themselves on the back, but they definitely DO what is right. If this is really about the fish and sustainability, surely that is whats most important.
Again, if you find this to be a huge concern, take your questions directly to management at your local store, or leave feedback on the website

By: meggan

meggan — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:43:33 +0000

Thank you so much for posting this. I was under the mistaken impression that Trader Joe’s was a company to be trusted (it’s simply the image they seem to project). Irresponsible fishing and the destroying the future of our marine life (and indeed that is what’s happening NOW) is unforgivable and I will absolutely cease shopping at Joe’s until they show some effort. Customers won’t be happy either when there is simply no seabass, tuna, salmon, etc to be had! Also, for acceptable fish purchases, I use http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx?region_id=7