Royal Greenland
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 10 sources
Greenlandic fishing company selling cold-water prawns and frozen fish.
Royal Greenland's supply chain was linked to forced labour in 2023, and there's no proof it pays more than the legal minimum, which in China is below a living wage.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 0 of 6 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 3 red flags: no evidence of a living wage, unaudited production in high-risk countries and forced or child labour. Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record: the most serious problem on its record (forced labour link, last recorded in 2023) was a link through a supplier, not a finding against the company itself.
- 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 0 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 China 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
- 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 3
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Made mostly 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
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where it's made
Royal Greenland says it makes products in Canada, Germany, Norway and Poland. Press and retailer reports name China. The rest is shown as where fish and seafood are usually processed.
| Country | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| ThailandUsual for the industry | No guarantee of rights | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| VietnamUsual for the industry | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Norway | 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 |
| Canada | Regular violations | About a living wage | Low |
| Germany | Strong protections | About a living wage | Low |
| Poland | Regular violations | Close to a living wage | Moderate |
| 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.
- Makes part of its range in its own factories
- It traces some of its catch or holds environmental labels such as MSC, ASC or BAP, but doesn't show both that its catch is traced to the boat or farm and that crews' or farm workers' conditions are checked independently.
Research notes Royal Greenland, based in Nuuk, catches with its own trawlers and buys from independent fishers, and processes mainly at its own plants in Greenland (not shown, as Greenland is not on the country list), with 1,354 of its 2,021 staff there; it also has plants in Canada, Norway and Cuxhaven, Germany. Espersen packs some products in Poland under contract, and a Shandong plant processes Greenland fish for Asia. Its own fleet caught about 55,700 tonnes in 2019, and it publishes no vessel list. About 63% of raw material was MSC certified. Suppliers in high-risk countries need SMETA audits, but fishing crews are not independently checked.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| News reporting and NGO investigations | Problem found | The Outlaw Ocean Project's 2023 China seafood investigation linked Royal Greenland to Chinese processors Shandong Meijia and Rizhao Rirong, which received Uyghur workers. View |
Confirmed issues 1
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 supplierThe Outlaw Ocean Project reported in 2023 that Royal Greenland's Japanese subsidiary has Greenland fish processed at a Shandong Meijia plant, a group that received Uyghur workers under state labour transfers, and that Royal Greenland shipped seafood in 2019-2022 to Rizhao Rirong, part of a group that also received Xinjiang workers. Source · search the archive | Not knownRoyal Greenland said Meijia was in its supplier code programme, which it checks regularly; no suspension, audit result or remedy has been reported. |
Sources and actions
Sources 10
Show all 10 sources
- Royal Greenland (Outlaw Ocean Project, China: The Superpower of Seafood, 2023) · search the archive · Royal Greenland Japan has Greenland raw material processed at a Shandong Meijia facility; Meijia and Rongsense received Xinjiang workers; shipments to Rizhao Rirong 2019-2022; company reply
- Royal Greenland (World Benchmarking Alliance Seafood Stewardship Index) · search the archive · More than 40 landing and processing facilities in Greenland, Canada and Europe, including Germany and Poland
- Newfoundland union files worker grievances against Royal Greenland plant, stages demonstration (Undercurrent News, Aug 2023) · FFAW union filed grievances and demonstrated at a Royal Greenland plant in Newfoundland; union CEO said it is not treating plant workers in a moral or ethical manner
- Why Greenland is tapping foreign labor to fill fish processing jobs (Arctic Deeply / The New Humanitarian, June 2017) · Royal Greenland recruited Chinese workers for its Maniitsoq plant amid labour shortages, on the same pay and conditions as Greenlandic staff
- Espersen purchases Royal Greenland plant in Koszalin as part of strategic partnership (2017) · search the archive · Royal Greenland sold its Koszalin, Poland plant to Espersen with a long-term contract for Espersen to process products for Royal Greenland
Published by Royal Greenland or its owner
- Production sites (Royal Greenland) · search the archive · Production sites in Greenland (e.g. Maniitsoq), Canada and Cuxhaven factory in Europe; sales sites in markets such as Denmark, China and Japan, none in Australia
- Facts and figures (Royal Greenland) · search the archive · 2,021 employees at end of 2025: Greenland 1,354, Canada 333, Denmark 126, other 208; headquarters in Nuuk
- Third party certification (Royal Greenland) · search the archive · 63% of raw materials MSC certified (2019-2022 goal period); salmon for its Norwegian plant GLOBALG.A.P. certified
- Ethical supply chain management, human rights and due diligence (Royal Greenland) · search the archive · Supplier risk grouping by country; SMETA audits for fish and shellfish suppliers in high-risk countries; supplier code covers migrant recruitment
- Expanding the base: fishery and purchase (Royal Greenland, May 2020) · search the archive · Eight own vessels caught 55,700 tonnes in 2019; Greenland plants received 66,745 tonnes; Canadian plants bought 21,500 tonnes from independent fishermen
Company details
- Owned by
- Owned by the Government of Greenland
- Employees
- About 2,021
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Royal Greenland ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/royal-greenland, 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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