H&M stops buying leather from Brazil over Amazon fires
Low-cost fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) said Friday it is suspending leather purchases from Brazil to make sure it is not supporting cattle farming that may be contributing to the fires in the Amazon rainforest.
The move by the Stockholm-based company follows a similar decision by the maker of Vans and Timberland shoes.
Some international investors are also trying to put pressure on the Brazilian government, which has been seen as too lax in its approach to protecting the rainforest.
Hennes & Mauritz AB said its temporary ban on leather from Brazil will remain in place “until there are credible assurances ... that the leather does not contribute to environmental harm in the Amazon.”
At: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/handm-stops-buying-leather-from-brazil-over-amazon-fires/2019/09/06/360f40a4-d083-11e9-a620-0a91656d7db6_story.html
Cattle and their ranchers in the São Marcelo Ranch in Brazil's Mato Grosso state.
The São Marcelo Ranch in 2012 became the first in the world to earn Rainforest Alliance certification for sustainable cattle production.
Most other Brazilian cattle ranches, however, operate with little regard for either waterways or, if near the Amazon, the rainforest around them.
The powerful cattle lobby is believed to be behind far-right President Jair Bolsonaro's push to allow increased rainforest burning - leading to this year's Amazon fires crisis.
