[3][4] Earthtrust has been involved in many high-profile advocacy actions; notably the pioneering use of genetic analysis to demonstrate the prevalence of pirate whaling,[5] the first scientific demonstration of self-awareness[6][7][8] in a non-primate at its Delphis lab,[9][10] creation of the first international seafood environmental accreditation standard (Flipper Seal of Approval[11]), binding the world's largest tuna firm (StarKist) contractually to its tuna-acquisition criteria,[12][13] and being the first to take charge[14] of the environmental disaster left by the retreating Iraqi army in the Gulf War.

[15] The organization was designed to have a high funding efficiency and effectiveness, showcasing the methodologies of "effectivism" and "system steering" as alternatives to standard activism, by preferentially taking on what would otherwise be considered "impossible missions".

Launching a 40' sailboat into the North Pacific in 1988, it succeeded in getting the first ever documentation of actively fishing driftnet vessels of a huge three-nation fleet – at that time unknown to the world at large.

It then produced the video "Stripmining the Seas" and used it, along with Earthtrust's briefing document of worldwide driftnet impacts, to catalyze a fast-growing movement among fishing nations, and secondarily among conservationists.

In 1989, it was requested by Greenpeace NZ director Mike Hagler that Earthtrust do a Tasman Sea at-sea expedition to help keep momentum on South Pacific ban initiatives.

Despite its comparatively small size as an international organization, Earthtrust maintained credible pressure on the issue in the face of intense lobbying by driftnetting nations; building a network of concerned individuals, businesses, legislators, and others.

Don White of Earthtrust created a plan to end this deadlock and presented it to Tony O'Reilly, CEO of HJ Heinz, StarKist's parent firm.

This plan was based around the Earthtrust-owned accreditation mark "Flipper Seal of Approval",[13] which as a trademarked international symbol could not be copied by tuna firms which were still killing dolphins.

This caused other major firms to adopt similar criteria, such as those of Earth Island Institute, which subsequently co-founded Flipper Foundation with Earthtrust as a mechanism to use fisheries royalties to reduce bycatch to zero via successive contract iterations, and innovations such as robot observers.

The first on the scene while missiles were still falling, Earthtrust campaign staff quickly took charge; shutting off pipelines gushing into the ocean, deploying oil barriers to protect wetlands, escorting international media from Bahrain into still-burning Kuwait, and taking political action within Kuwait resulting in dramatically expediting the process of the fires being extinguished, saving an estimated 2 billion barrels of crude oil from burning freely and polluting the environment.

Notably, Earthtrust used the same teams and strategic toolkit which had previously conducted primarily dolphin and fisheries campaigns, demonstrating that the organization's unusual methods were flexible enough for drastically different situations.

As an outgrowth of the process of gathering information, establishing Asian contacts and building a worldwide network for tiger protection, Earthtrust's concerns expanded to include other species endangered by illegal trade and vanishing habitats.

[2] Earthtrust efforts included providing information and documentation to Washington DC State Department and USFWS officials, regarding Taiwan's promises to take concrete steps to shut down the trade in rhino horn and tiger parts.

A plan to allow dolphins to computer-interact with Japanese schoolchildren in real time over the internet was in progress when Sea Life Park changed ownership and the lab was closed in 2003 after nearly 18 years of operation.

It gave over 180,000 tourists access to information regarding marine species while setting a higher standard to assure that whales were not harassed by the vessels, which had been rampant prior to Earthtrust's entry.