Trader Joe’s Accused of Questionable Business Practices

Trader Joe’s, which is a distant cousin to Aldi, is generally viewed positively by shoppers. During a recent Market Force study, Trader Joe’s topped customer surveys for customer loyalty and brand image, and it was near the top for customer experience. Shoppers like Trader Joe’s, which is why TJ’s is one of the most profitable grocers per square foot despite spending very little on advertising.

However, TJ’s has been the subject of controversy, especially in recent years. Back in 2022, for instance, groups of Trader Joe’s workers organized an effort to unionize. In April of 2024, TASTE Magazine accused the grocer of bad faith dealings with suppliers. And we’ve taken note of the number of product recalls TJ’s has had with its private labels.

In early January of 2025, the longtime business magazine Fast Company posted a lengthy three-part exposé on Trader Joe’s. “Trader Joe’s,” Fast Company claims, “remains a beloved brand despite record product recalls, safety violations, worker misconduct complaints, and an environmental record that belies its reputation.”

The first part of the exposé explores Trader Joe’s as a company, delving into its history, its shopper demographics, and its fanbase. Here it also makes one of its first serious accusations, accusing the company of “greenwashing,” or misrepresenting its record on the environment:

A point of pride among some of Trader Joe’s most committed fans is the idea that patronizing the stores is good for the environment. Coulombe claimed in his book that Trader Joe’s embodied his “commitment to environmentalism,” citing the company’s embrace of energy-efficient diesel trucks and a store concept (which never came to fruition) known as the Trader Joe’s Biosphere. In 1977, Trader Joe’s became the first major grocer to offer reusable bags.

Yet more recently, Trader Joe’s has repeatedly run afoul of federal and state climate regulations while refusing consumers’ and advocacy groups’ entreaties to be more transparent.

In the second part of the exposé, Fast Company examines Trader Joe’s product sourcing, including issues related to product recalls and product problems. Here the outlet claims:

Trader Joe’s has distinguished itself as arguably America’s least forthcoming grocery brand, receiving the industry’s lowest marks for transparency from consumer watchdogs in multiple categories. The Humane Society has given it a -7.2 (on a scale of -80 to 210) for its disclosure of animal welfare practices. The Climate-Friendly Supermarkets program has given it two 0s out of 100 for its “complete lack of transparency” on emissions. Green America has failed it for not having a publicly available plan to end child labor in the cocoa supply chain. A coalition of top U.S. public health advocacy groups has given it an F for its transparency on antibiotics use, and Toxic-Free Future has awarded it 0 of 400 points for not revealing the actions being taken to make its products and packaging safer.

In the exposé’s third part, the author discusses the Trader Joe’s work environment. At the time of this post, the title reads: “Sexual harassment, union busting, and a spotty safety record: The dark side of working at Trader Joe’s.”

Early on, the article says:

For this story, Fast Company conducted hundreds of interviews and pored through a thousand pages of documents that describe a previously unreported systemic pattern in which inappropriate sexual advances and unwanted physical contact go unpunished by Trader Joe’s. Sources from half a dozen locations claimed the bad behavior they witnessed at their stores, sometimes lasting years, stopped only once Trader Joe’s transferred the harasser to a different workplace.

Regarding Trader Joe’s response to all of these accusations, the first article says this:

With a few exceptions noted throughout the text, Trader Joe’s declined to comment on most of the specific allegations we cover. In a statement to Fast Company, a spokesperson for the chain pointed to the company’s “widespread recognition as a great place to work,” citing its inclusion on several publications’ “best places to work” lists.

Readers can find the first part of the series here, the second part here, and the third part here.