Crown Prince
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 4 sources
Family-owned US brand of canned sardines, kippers, oysters and clams.
There's no proof Crown Prince pays more than the legal minimum, which in Thailand and China is below a living wage, and it has no full independent audit.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, a hidden, unaudited supply chain in high-risk countries and fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsMost of its products are made in countries such as Thailand and China, where unions are heavily restricted, and it has no full supply chain audit.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No child or forced labour findings or links
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
- Not met: Traces its catch to the boat or farm and has crews' or farm workers' conditions checked independently
Red flags 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Hidden supply chain, mostly in countries with poor worker rights
- Red flag: Relies on fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farmShown to explain the grade. It isn't one of the 2 red flags that set it.
- Red flag: Fails its category's raw-material check (means Lacks transparency)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
Crown Prince names some of the countries it makes in: China, Thailand, Morocco and the Netherlands. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Morocco | Regular violations | Well below a living wage | Low |
| Netherlands | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| IndonesiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| IndiaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | High |
| AustraliaUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| EcuadorUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| NorwayUsual for the industry | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: fishing fleets and processing plants have some of the worst documented forced labour, including trafficked crews held at sea for years.
- Relies on fish and seafood from fishing boats and farms, where crews and farm workers, often migrants recruited into debt, have been held for months or years, beaten and denied pay, out of reach of factory audits. It hasn't shown any steps to trace its fish and seafood to the boat or farm or have the conditions of the people who catch or farm it checked, so it's graded Lacks transparency until it does.
Research notes Crown Prince imports its smoked oysters, smoked baby clams and jack mackerel from Chinese factories it says it visits each year, has its Maldives pole-and-line yellowfin tuna packed in Thailand, sources anchovies and pilchard sardines from Morocco and bottles clam juice in the Netherlands. Brisling come from the North Sea off Scotland and kipper herring from Canada, but where those are packed is not stated. MSC covers only some lines (kippers, albacore, clam juice); others carry Friend of the Sea, an environmental label. It names no packers or boats and publishes nothing on crew or factory worker conditions beyond a supplier standards document.
Sources and actions
Sources 4
Show all 4 sources
- Crown Prince (Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op) · search the archive · Crown Prince is family-owned, founded in 1948 and run by the Hoffman family
Published by Crown Prince or its owner
- Seafood from China - Crown Prince · search the archive · Crown Prince smoked oysters, smoked baby clams and jack mackerel are imported from FDA-registered Chinese factories visited yearly
- Sustainable Seafood - Crown Prince · search the archive · Yellowfin packed in Thailand; anchovies and sardines from Morocco; clam juice bottled in Holland; MSC on kippers, albacore and clam juice
- Corporate Sustainability - Crown Prince · search the archive · General commitment to responsible harvest practices; MSC, ASC or Friend of the Sea certification 'where possible'
Company details
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Crown Prince ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/crown-prince, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Other canned and pouched fish brands
Nothing we've rated in canned and pouched fish is better than Lacks transparency yet.
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