Recently, new findings have discovered that major fashion brands are at risk of contributing to deforestation specifically in the Amazon rainforest. This is due to brands’ connections to companies involved in the production and creation of leather products and goods. Research explains that the cattle industry is the main driver of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, thus as the fashion industry relies heavily on leather exportation machines and products, the Amazon rainforest is getting closer and closer to an ecosystem collapse.
A recent report by the Slow Factory, a nonprofit organization supporting human rights and environmental justice, concluded that brands like Prada, Fendi, H&M, Zara, Nike, and more have various links to an industry that furthers Amazon deforestation. Additionally, “more than 50 brands have multiple supply-chain links to the largest Brazilian leather exporter, JBS, which is known to engage in Amazon deforestation”. The Slow Factory also stated that “projections show in order to keep supplying consumers with wallets, handbags, and shoes, the fashion industry must slaughter 430 million cows annually by 2025”. Destruction of the Amazon rainforest catalyzes a threat to the indigenous people who fully rely on the forest itself, while deforestation and fires lead to an increasing amount of deaths in species. Moreover, deforestation “escalates the risk of zoonosis, which is the transfer of disease from animals to humans and the cause of Ebola, HIV, and most likely the Covid-19 pandemic”.
Although fashion brands put out statements vouching to change and protect the environment, many go against their own policies. For example, LVMH obligated their brand to protect the already “vulnerable region with Unesco”, however, was later found to be high risk in terms of their connections to Amazon deforestation. Although this issue resides mainly in the Amazon, this should not be an excuse to contribute to deforestation in other places. Rather, these fashion brands should make an attempt to explore and find new possibilities and ways to push away from their engagement to an existential environmental crisis. Ultimately, the fashion industry needs to understand that deforestation is not only a human rights issue but a climate, biodiversity, public health catastrophe that has detrimental effects on the entire world.
I appreciate you reporting on such an important issue. It is sad to realize how much the leather industry leads to deforestation, when leather is already such a cruel and unnecessary product. Fashion brands should focus on sustainable fabrics that also do not cause the unnecessary deaths of animals.
Hey Nadia! I really enjoyed this blog. I think this really speaks to the slow but important move towards sustainable fashion. I really think that now more than ever young consumers are driving the fashion market. Even looking at Billie Eillish wearing Oscar de la Renta on the condition that they stop using fur moving forward. I think the more public awareness that we bring to environmental matters like deforestation, the more change we can predict. And frankly the faster change can happen, faster than governmental regulation pull.
I like how you made sure to let us readers know that it is a big problem especially in the Amazon Rainforest. I also like how you connected your knowledge to zoonosis. I believe we need to find other ways to make material things.
I really like the connections you made in this blog post such as your connection to zoonosis. I believe that this is an issue that is not discussed a lot so I found it refreshing to read in your blog post. I think that as more and more people realize the detrimental effects of deforestation, more companies and industries will move to create change and lessen the effects.
This was such an interesting read. In my business operations class that I took this past summer we did a case study on Zara and how their seasonal rotations are insanely short and frequent. Fast fashion has become a behemoth of an industry that even those who desperately wish to make better and more sustainable fashion purchasing decisions are unable to do so due to unaffordability and ever evolving trends. I loved this essay because it focused more on the responsibility of the fashion houses and companies in fighting deforestation. Sometimes I feel as though the blame is often unfairly placed on the consumer in terms of patronizing brands whose actions are harming the environment. However, I think accountability shoul…