Kirkland Signature Seafood
Harm on record. Has recent confirmed harm to workers that it hasn't put right.
Last researched 30 October 2026 · 9 sources
Costco's own-label seafood range: salmon, prawns, scallops and tuna.
In 2023, Kirkland Signature Seafood's owner, Costco, was named as a buyer of seafood from Chinese plants using Uyghur forced labour.
Also worth knowing
Kirkland Signature Seafood didn't act on it.
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Why it's graded Harm on record
- Not met: Meets 0 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 4 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries, forced or child labour and fish and seafood it can't trace to the boat or farm. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- Holds the grade back: It's Harm on record because of a serious confirmed problem from the last 5 years that it didn't act on: forced labour link, last recorded in 2023.
Good requirements 0 of 6
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsSome 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
- Not 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 4
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made partly in countries with poor worker rights, without a full independent audit of its supply chain
- Red flag: Forced, slave or child labour found in or linked to its supply chain
- 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 3 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
From product labels; Kirkland Signature Seafood doesn't say where its products are made. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Australia | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Norway | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| United States | Systematic violations | Below 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 |
| EcuadorUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
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.
- Modern slavery statement
- 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 Costco does not publish where its Kirkland Signature seafood is processed or which boats and farms supply it; countries come from Australian product listings (salmon from Norway, scallops from the USA, prawn cocktail made in Australia with Vietnamese prawns). SeaChoice says Costco has full chain traceability for Kirkland seafood but publishes no vessel or farm list, and found no evidence of audits at boat or farm level; it scored Costco Canada 27% (F) on human rights in 2025. Costco is a founding Seafood Task Force member and audits mainly final processors.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Costco Wholesale Australia publishes a modern slavery statement for the year to 31 August 2025, approved 28 January 2026. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Listed | Costco did not respond to a 2023 request about Uyghur forced labour and migrant worker abuse in seafood supply chains. View |
Confirmed issues 2
Only confirmed problems are listed, and old ones drop off after 10 to 15 years. A problem the company has fully put right no longer counts against it, and nor does one it finds and is fixing itself. How problems are counted
| Last recorded | What happened | Made amends? |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Link through a supplierAn October 2023 Outlaw Ocean Project and New Yorker investigation found Uyghur forced labour in Chinese seafood processing plants whose products reached US supermarkets including Costco; Costco did not respond (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 2023). Source · search the archive | NoCostco did not respond to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, and SeaChoice reports no public response. |
| 2014 | Link through a supplierA 2014 Guardian investigation found slaves on Thai boats catching fish for the feed used by CP Foods' prawn farms, and named Costco among retailers selling CP Foods prawns (FoodNavigator, 2014). Source · archived copy | PartlyCostco said it would require Thai prawn suppliers to police their feed sources, and later helped set up the Seafood Task Force; no remedy for crews reported. |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- SeaChoice reported in 2025 that Costco was also linked in 2023 to the Corporate Accountability Lab's report on labour abuses in Indian shrimp supply chains, and had not publicly responded (SeaChoice, 2025). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 9
Show all 9 sources
- China: Investigation finds Indonesian worker abuse and Uyghur forced labour in seafood supply chains (BHRRC, 2023) · search the archive · Seafood from plants using Uyghur workers reached US supermarkets including Costco; Costco did not respond
- Costco non-response re Uyghur forced labour in seafood supply chains (BHRRC, 2023) · search the archive · Costco did not respond, 23 October 2023
- Seafood slavery: Asian slave labour producing prawns for European and US retailers (FoodNavigator, 2014) · archived copy · Costco named among retailers selling CP Foods prawns; said it would require Thai prawn suppliers to take corrective action
- Seafood Progress Retailer Profile: Costco (SeaChoice, 2025) · search the archive · Human rights 27% (F); full traceability for Kirkland seafood only; no evidence of vessel or farm audits; linked to 2023 China and India reports with no public response
Published by Kirkland Signature Seafood or its owner
- Kirkland Signature Atlantic Salmon Portions (Costco Australia) · search the archive · Sold by Costco Australia; produced in Norway
- Kirkland Signature Raw Sea Scallops (Costco Australia) · search the archive · Country of origin USA
- Kirkland Signature Prawn Cocktail (Costco Australia) · search the archive · Made in Australia with Vietnamese prawns
- Costco Wholesale Australia FY25 Modern Slavery Statement · search the archive · 15 Australian warehouses; Seafood Task Force founding member; shrimp and tuna fishing named as forced labour risks; audits mainly at final processors
- Fisheries & Aquaculture (Costco) · search the archive · Seeks MSC and ASC certified seafood with WWF; founding Seafood Task Force member; no certified share given
Company details
- Owned by
- Costco Wholesale Corporation
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 30 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Kirkland Signature Seafood ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/kirkland-signature-seafood, last researched 30 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Harm on record means
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Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Kirkland Signature Seafood.