MSC and Chinese partners announce commitment to sustainability
Staff Writer |
On World Oceans Day last week, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), together with leading Chinese partners including China’s largest online marketplace Tmall.com, announced their commitment to sustainable seafood procurement.
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The MSC and Tmall signed a memorandum of understanding that Tmall will prioritise purchasing seafood from sustainable sources.
Tmall also committed to a target of 20% of seafood products sold with the MSC ecolabel by 2020.
Tmall, owned by Alibaba Group, has more than 375 million active buyers and can handle 25 million payments per second.
“Today, we signed a memorandum of understanding with the MSC on World Oceans Day to signify our support towards sustainable seafood development and the importance of certified fresh seafood imported to our Chinese consumers.
Alibaba Group’s Tmall will be the only primary platform to release new labelled certified products, and jointly organise a promotion program,” said Ray Ho, General Manager of Tmall Fresh.
“Sustainable seafood procurement strategies and goals are common in European and North American markets, especially for retailers, and they have had a critical role in driving the transformation of the sustainable seafood industry over the last 20 years since the MSC was established,” said Nicolas Guichoux, MSC Global Commercial Director.
More than 70 representatives from retailers, suppliers, NGOs and media attended the event where Ole (part of Vanguard Group, owned by China Resources (CR) Group), Shenzhen Rainbow Grocery and the Shangri-La Hotel Chain also announced their commitment to sustainable seafood procurement and marketing in the Hangzhou Midtown Shangri-La. ■
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