What does fashion brands has to do with deforestation in the Amazon?

In late November we could see several organisation’s sharing the news about the linkage between fashion and deforestation. Fashion Revolution was one of the organisation standing behind the #SupplyChange campaign started by The Slow Factory organisation. The Guardian reported that Zara, H&M, Adidas, Prada, Nike, Fendi and so on was among the brands having a connection to an industry that props up Amazons deforestation. The National News shared the same news linking it to Stella McCartney pledge to ban the use of leather and fur. Even British Vogue had an article on the subject; Is Your Leather Bag Causing Deforestation in the Amazon?

The campaign came after the release of Stand Earth’s latest report; Nowhere to Hide: How the Fashion Industry Is Linked To Amazon Rainforest Destruction. Stand Earth is a supply chain research firm who has assessed 84 fashion brands supply chains to major companies causing deforestation in the Amazon. 23 of these brands already have policy’s against deforestation which Stand Earth’s says are likely being violated. The reason why the research can’t state that these brands are actually causing deforestation is because it is almost impossible to follow one leather item to it’s original source, but based on supply chain data of companies linked to one another, these major fashion brands all seems to be a part of the link.

Majority of the deforestation in Amazon is due to cattle , most of it is illegal and the amount of cattle is about hundres of thousands (different numbers at different sources, but around that figure). The cattle provide leather globally where the exported value by Brazil was 1 443 billion USD in 2017 according to Leather International.

The campaign #SupplyChange tells fashion brand to stop buying leather from suppliers who can’t show 100% traceability from birth farm to product among other things.

We have a better idea. Skip leather totally in new products.

Better for the climate, the Amazon, indigenous people of the Amazon and the cattle.