Read Nike's press release
Over 30,000 Greenpeace activists emailed Nike, Adidas, Reebok,
Timberland, Geox and Clarks to tell them about their concern for
the environment and the climate. That's over 200,000 emails sent by
Greenpeace activists to these popular shoe brands!
"Nike has set a great precedent for Timberland, Adidas, Reebok,
and Clarks to follow," says Greenpeace forests campaigner Lindsey
Allen. "Brazil's cattle industry, which supplies leather for shoes,
accounts for about 80% of all deforested areas in the Amazon. In
fact, the Brazilian cattle industry is the largest single source of
deforestation anywhere in the world. And deforestation in turn
causes one-fifth of all the greenhouse gas emissions in the world,
more than all the world's cars, trucks, trains, planes, and ships
combined. Nike has taken the necessary steps to make sure they
aren't contributing to the problem. Timberland, Adidas, Reebok, and
Clarks need to adopt policies to protect the Amazon and the
climate, as well."
Nike sets example other shoe companies must follow
While the companies behind reputable global brands like
Timberland, Adidas, Reebok, and Clarks appear to believe that
Amazon sources are excluded from their products, our report, "Slaughtering the Amazon," which was the result
of a three-year investigation into Brazil's cattle industry,
exposed how these companies' blind consumption of raw materials is
actually fueling Amazon deforestation and climate change.
Greenpeace's undercover investigation into the Brazilian cattle
industry exposed the many convoluted steps in the complex global
trade in leather and beef products from
part-Brazilian-government-owned corporations Bertin, JBS and
Marfrig. We have identified hundreds of ranches belonging to these
companies that are within the Amazon rainforest and supplying
cattle to slaughterhouses in the Amazon region. Where we were able
to obtain mapped boundaries for ranches, satellite analysis reveals
that significant supplies of cattle come from ranches active in
recent and illegal deforestation. Trade data also reveal trade with
ranches using modern-day slavery. Additionally, one Bertin
slaughterhouse receives supplies of cattle from an illegal ranch
occupying Indian Lands.
These slaughterhouses in the Amazon region ship their hides and
beef to company facilities thousands of miles away in the south of
Brazil for further processing before export. In a number of cases,
additional processing takes place in import countries before the
final product reaches the market. In effect, criminal or "dirty"
supplies of cattle are being "laundered" through this supply chain
to an unwitting global market.
We have sent copies of the report to all of the shoe companies
named as receiving this laundered leather, but unfortunately only
Nike has taken the steps necessary to ensure that its consumption
of raw materials is not contributing to destruction of the Amazon
and climate change. Which begs the question: When will Adidas,
Reebok, Timberland, Clarks, and Geox do the right thing and
establish policies of their own to protect the Amazon and the
climate?
Greenpeace report has had major impact
The announcement from Nike is the latest in a string of welcome news for the Amazon and
the climate since June 1st, when the "Slaughtering the Amazon"
report was released. The next day, the Public Prosecution Office in
Brazil's Para State announced that it was opening a billion-dollar lawsuit against several farms
and various companies operating there, including one slaughterhouse
owned by Brazil's cattle giant Bertin.
On June 12th came news that several major grocery store chains
in Brazil, including Wal-Mart and Carrefour, had banned beef purchased from the farms accused
by the Para state prosecutor's offfice of being involved in illegal
deforestation. The very next day, the International Finance
Corporation (IFC), the private lending arm of the World Bank,
announced that it was withdrawing a $90 million dollar loan to
Bertin.
Then, on June 22nd, the world's fourth largest beef trader, Marfrig, announced a moratorium that would
prevent the company from buying cattle raised in newly deforested
areas within the Amazon. The move by Marfrig came after the
"Slaughtering the Amazon" report had thrust an international
spotlight on Marfrig, Bertin, JBS and other leading cattle
companies for driving Amazon deforestation and climate change.
Take action! Say thank you to Nike, and ask the other brands to
clean up their act.
The demand for leather means more Amazon rainforest cleared to
graze cattle - leather that can end up in popular brands like
Timberland, Adidas, Reebok, and Clarks. Nike has stepped up and
taken the necessary action to eliminate Amazon destruction from its
supply chain. Take action now >> Thank Nike for setting a
good example of protecting the Amazon and the climate.
Unfortunately, the other shoe companies linked to Amazon
deforestation in our report continue to offer nothing but excuses.
With rival Nike having made a commitment to protect the Amazon,
it's time for these companies to step up and do the right
thing.
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Thank Nike for protecting the Amazon and the climate