Shoe companies take a step forward

After working with us over the past few weeks, Clarks have today announced that they will ensure the suppliers that provide the leather for their shoes from stop sourcing it from deforested areas of the Amazon. This is a really positive move - they're not only rejecting leather from illegally logged areas of the region, but from any cattle ranch that is being run on deforested land.

This means there's a unified front from the shoe companies we challenged over Amazon leather in their supply chains. All have now committed to avoiding leather that is implicated in Amazon destruction. Clarks join Adidas, Nike, Timberland and Geox, who have all made similar commitments over the past few weeks.

This is great news from the point of view of halting Amazon deforestation, and even better, it should lead to longer-term reform of the cattle ranching sector in Brazil. The shoe companies are demanding stringent traceability standards from the big cattle companies, and it's this kind of regulatory change which can set the conditions for more long-term shift in the way the Amazon is protected.

As our report, Slaughtering the Amazon, shows, cattle ranching to produce beef and leather is the biggest driver of deforestation in Brazil. Getting companies to put pressure on suppliers to change their ways and regulate their industries can really work in limiting rainforest destruction:

It's worth noting that the moratorium that we were involved in pushing for several years ago on soya has just been extended for another year. In a similar story to the cattle work, our campaign pressured the major soya traders operating in Brazil to announce a two-year moratorium. This dramatically decreased the trade in soya grown on newly deforested land in the Amazon.

The announcement of the extension of the soya moratorium was attended by the Brazilian environment minister Carlos Minc and the Soya Working Group. It's also been welcomed by the European companies that supported its establishment so that they could guarantee soya linked to Amazon destruction did not end up in their products. The story of the soya moratorium shows how a sector can shift to take into account the environmental impact of their business. With leadership from the shoe companies we're seeing the same process happening with leather.

What next? Well, we still want UK supermarkets to make similar commitments on the beef products they supply. So there's still work to do. But this is a big step forward for the shoe industry, and a key victory in delivering the kind of long-term regulation that can help meet our goal of zero deforestation in the Amazon, and around the world.

Nike agree to stop buying Amazon leather following Greenpeace report

The global sportswear company Nike has announced that it is to stop buying leather from the Amazon region of Brazil, following concerns that its shoes and trainers could be driving the destruction of the world's largest rainforest and contributing to climate change.

The move follows a Greenpeace report, released in June, which exposed how cattle hides from deforested areas were contaminating the supply chains of a number of global brands including Nike, Clarks, Adidas and Reebok. Deforestation for cattle ranching in Brazil alone is now the biggest driver of deforestation anywhere in the world.

A Nike spokesman will release the new company policy at their headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon at 1700 UK time. A host of British sports stars are sponsored by Nike and wear their products, including Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, and the entire English Rugby Union team.

Reacting to the news, Greenpeace forest campaigner Sarah Shoraka said:

"Nike has recognised that trampling over the Amazon rainforest to produce leather for its trainers is an unacceptable way of doing business. Preparing land for cattle ranching is now the single biggest cause of deforestation in the world and a major driver of climate change.

"Nike has taken a bold step, and now we need to see other companies follow their lead."

The Greenpeace report has already caused significant movement within the Brazilian cattle industry, and it is hoped that Nike's decision will help pave the way for an industry wide moratorium on the destruction of forests for cattle ranching. Greenpeace is demanding that other shoe companies such as Reebok, Clarks and Adidas follow Nike's lead and support a moratorium.

The policy document that Nike signed today requires all of its suppliers "to certify that they are supplying leather for Nike Inc. products from cattle raised outside the Amazon biome." This policy will be in place until Nike feels that a reliable system of governance -with full traceability of cattle products which includes the guarantee that those products are not causing deforestation - in place in the Amazon.

These suppliers then have until July 2010 to create a fully traceable supply system, which will provide reliable proof that any leather used for Nike shoes has not been sourced from recently deforested areas.

The Greenpeace report, entitled Slaughtering the Amazon was released on June 1^st. It can be viewed at http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/slaughtering-the-amazon

The Nike policy is available to view at http://www.nikebiz.com/media/pr/2009/07/22_AmazonLeatherPolicy.html

UK high street brands driving Amazon destruction for beef and leather

A three-year, undercover investigation by Greenpeace into Brazil’s booming cattle industry has exposed links between some of Britain’s biggest brands and the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Cattle ranching in the Amazon region is now the single biggest cause of deforestation in the world, and is being driven by the global export market.

The report also reveals how the Brazilian government has offered billions of dollars in loans to support the expansion of the cattle industry, despite its massive environmental impact. This investment severely undermines Brazil’s claims to be reducing deforestation, and jeopardises international efforts to protect the Amazon.

The new Greenpeace report, entitled Slaughtering the Amazon, tracks beef and leather products on their journey from farms involved in illegal deforestation and in some cases slavery, via giant processing facilities to the supply chains of global brands such as, Tesco, Adidas / Reebok, Nike, Clark’s, BMW, Carrefour, Ford, Honda, Gucci, IKEA, Kraft, and Wal-Mart.

Reacting to the report, Greenpeace forest campaigner Sarah Shoraka said:

“Running shoes, handbags and ready meals aren’t normally associated with rainforest destruction and climate change, but we’ve found a smoking gun. This new evidence shows how UK companies are driving the destruction of the Amazon by buying beef and leather products from unscrupulous suppliers in Brazil. These products are ending up on our shelves.”

Shoraka continued:

“The cattle industry is the single biggest cause of deforestation in the world and is a disaster for the fight against climate change. Big companies must take a stand and stop doing business with the worst offenders immediately.”

Deforestation is seen as an international priority in negotiations for a new climate change agreement, likely to be agreed at Copenhagen in December this year. Major international corporations and Governments are undermining efforts to tackle this issue through their links to deforestation and the cattle industry in Brazil.

40% of the UK’s processed beef (prepared, cooked or tinned) comes from Brazil. Nearly 90% of this comes from Bertin, JBS or Marfrig – three companies who knowingly buy significant volumes of cattle from farms engaged in recent and illegal deforestation. The massive popularity of ready meals in the UK (this country represents the largest market in the EU) along with our consumption of canned beef and leather products is contributing to a boom in global demand for Brazilian cattle.

For example, the report explains how a claim made by corned beef manufacturer Prince’s - that all of the meat used in their products is from long-established ranch areas – is in direct contrast to recent evidence which shows their suppliers accepting products from cattle farms involved in Amazon deforestation.

The evidence uncovered also exposes a key contradiction in the public statements of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva, who has pledged to double his country’s share of the global beef market by 2018 and whose Government has invested heavily in Bertin, JBS and Marfrig. The report contrasts these investments with his recent promise to cut deforestation by 72% by the same date and to set up an international fund for protecting the Amazon.

Greenpeace is calling on President Lula to introduce an immediate moratorium on further deforestation for cattle ranching, and to commit to zero deforestation in the Amazon by 2015. UK companies should immediately stop purchasing from Brazilian suppliers who refuse to commit to cleaning up their supply chains and must support a moratorium on all deforestation for cattle ranching.