Robinson Crusoe
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 7 sources
Brazilian and Chilean canned tuna and sardine brand owned by Spain's Jealsa.
There's no proof Robinson Crusoe pays more than the legal minimum, which in Ecuador is well 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 rightsSome of its products are made in countries such as Ecuador and Thailand, 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, partly 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
Product labels show Chile and Ecuador. Press and retailer reports name Brazil. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ecuador | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Brazil | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Chile | Regular violations | Below a living wage | Low |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ChinaUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| 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 |
| 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.
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- 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 In Brazil the brand's only plant is its own cannery at Pecém, São Gonçalo do Amarante (Ceará), which cans over 16,000 tonnes of tuna and sardines a year with 660 direct staff; over 90% of its tuna is landed in Ceará. In Chile, Jealsa bought the Robinson Crusoe cannery in 2004 and the brand sells canned fish and shellfish, some tuna labelled as from Ecuador. No vessel or supplier list, modern slavery statement or independent crew checks are published.
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Robinson Crusoe planeja investir R$ 35 milhões para logística de pescados no Ceará até 2028 (Diário do Nordeste, 2026) · search the archive · Part of Spain's Jealsa; only Brazilian plant at Pecém, Ceará; over 16,000 t of fish, 100m cans a year; 660 direct jobs; over 90% of tuna from Ceará
- Robinson Crusoe deve investir R$ 18 milhões em nova fábrica no Ceará (O Povo, 2021) · search the archive · Jealsa's Robinson Crusoe opened a tuna and sardine packing unit in São Gonçalo do Amarante; 540 direct jobs, about 70% women
- Robinson Crusoe sells 60% equity stake to AquaChile (FoodIngredientsFirst, 2006) · search the archive · Spain's Jealsa Rianxeira bought the majority of Robinson Crusoe's Chilean canned seafood division in 2004
- AquaChile buys Robinson Crusoe (Fish Farming Expert, 2007) · search the archive · Jealsa Rianxeira owns the Robinson Crusoe seafood cannery, which keeps the Robinson Crusoe name
- Concorrente de peso nos pescados (Agrolink, 2010) · search the archive · Robinson Crusoe is owned by Crusoe Foods, the Brazilian unit of Jealsa-Rianxeira, using domestic and imported fish
- Choritos Robinson Crusoe lata 200 g (Jumbo Chile) · search the archive · Robinson Crusoe shellfish sold in Chile with Chile as country of origin; brand makes canned fish and shellfish in Chile
- Atún Robinson Crusoe lomitos con salsa de tomate 91 g (Jumbo Chile) · search the archive · Robinson Crusoe tuna sold in Chile lists Ecuador as country of origin
Company details
- Headquarters
- Brazil
- Employees
- About 660
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Robinson Crusoe ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/robinson-crusoe, last researched 23 October 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
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