CSR - Adidas, Clarks, and Timberland call embargo on illegal Amazon leather
Last updated 8/4/2009 1:41:41 PM
Calling for embargo on illegal Amazon leather
Top footwear brands such as Adidas, Clarks, and Timberland have called for a halt to the destruction of Amazon rainforests by their leather suppliers.
The companies state they will refuse to buy leather sourced from farms on both legally and illegally deforested land and are calling for greater transparency in their supply chains.
The move has come following Greenpeace's three-year undercover investigation of the leather trade in Brazil. Their report, compiled of government reports, company documents and trade data from Brazil, China, Europe, Vietnam and the US, provides an exposé of the global movement of leather and meat from Brazilian cattle.
According to satellite imagery and other data, about a fifth of the Amazon forest's area has been lost since 1970. Environmental issues surrounding deforestation have gained momentum in recent years because of the links made between deforestation and man-made climate change; 17% of the world's carbon emissions come from deforestation – which is more than the global transport system.
This move, combined with government and consumer pressure, is now turning the spotlight onto UK food companies to take responsibility for their supply chains of Brazilian beef. In Brazil, three major supermarket chains, Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Pao de Acucar, have already agreed that they would no longer buy from ranches that were deforesting.
Andy Tait of Greenpeace comments ‘It's time for British supermarkets to get tough with their Brazilian beef suppliers and refuse to do business with those companies which are still trashing forests and speeding up climate change.'
The following statements have been made by the footwear companies:
Clarks
"Clarks will require suppliers of Brazilian leather to certify, in writing, that they are not supplying leather from recently deforested areas in the Amazon biome."
Timberland
"We are grateful for the work of NGOs such as Greenpeace in exposing problems deep within the Brazilian leather supply chain."
Adidas
"We believe that joining together with our industry partners in this effort ensures an ongoing and sustainable method to stop deforestation in the Amazon biome region."
More on CSR and Responsible Companies