Season
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 23 October 2026 · 4 sources
US canned sardine brand owned by Moroccan group Mutandis.
Season publishes no certification, independent audit or supplier list.
Also worth knowing
Workers in Morocco are very unlikely to earn a living wage.
Know something we've missed? Send evidence. Represent Season? Send a right of reply.
Compare Season with another brand
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 supply chain 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 rightsJudged on where its products are made: worker rights are poorly protected in Thailand, China and Vietnam.
- 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: no certification, independent audits or supplier list
- 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
From press and retailer reports; Season 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | Regular violations | Well 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 |
| 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 Season, based in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, does not can its own fish: it buys from packers in several countries, mainly Morocco, and was bought by the Casablanca-listed Mutandis group in 2021. Other packing countries and the packers themselves are not named. Some products carry MSC or Friend of the Sea labels, but no vessel list, crew checks, modern slavery statement or supplier list was found.
Sources and actions
Sources 4
Show all 4 sources
- 100-year-old Season Brand shows off refreshed logo, packaging at Fancy Food Show (SeafoodSource, 2024) · search the archive · Season is owned by Mutandis, based in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, mainly sources from Morocco; products MSC and Friend of the Sea certified
- Mutandis acquiert Season (Medias24, 2021) · search the archive · Season does not make its own canned fish; it sources from several countries, in particular Morocco
- Mutandis s'offre l'Americain Season Brand (Bladi.net, 2021) · search the archive · Mutandis agreed in June 2021 to buy all of Season Brand's assets from RAB Food
- L'epopee americaine de Mutandis (Boursenews, 2021) · search the archive · Part of Season's supplier base is Moroccan; more than 40 seafood products
Company details
- Owned by
- Mutandis (Morocco)
- Headquarters
- United States
- Last researched
- 23 October 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Season ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/season-brand, 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.
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Season.