Fashion Faux Pas: New Greenpeace Report Details Connection Between Consumer Leather Products and Global Warming, Rainforest Destruction

What's the biggest contributor to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, responsible for, on average, the loss of one acre every 8 seconds? Your shoes, your steak and your sportscar. That is, much of the cow meat Americans consume, and the leather products Americans buy -- such as shoes and car interiors -- originate from Brazilian cattle. And cattle in the Amazon are responsible for about 80% of its deforestation. This information all comes from a new report by Greenpeace called Slaughtering the Amazon.

As part of their three-year investigation, Greenpeace explored the supply chain of meat and leather from the Brazilian cattle to the companies who sell products made from them. They discovered that companies as far ranging as Adidas, BMW, Ford, Honda, Gucci, IKEA, Kraft, Nike, Toyota and Wal-mart all are supplied by companies who handle these Brazilian cattle products.

Other interesting tidbits from the report include:

• Brazil is the world's 4th largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions, the majority of which come from clearing/burning the rainforest in order to raise cattle for export.
• Brazil owns the largest commercial cattle herd and is the world's largest beef exporter (it ties with China for top leather goods exporter).
• The Amazon is estimated to store around 80-120 billion tons of carbon. If the Amazon is destroyed, about 50 times the greenhouse gases currently released by the U.S. would be released by the destruction of the forest.
• While the Brazilian government has called itself a leader in decreasing deforestation (mainly by going after illegal operations), according to the report, the Brazilian government "is a funder and shareholder in the major players in the cattle sector in the Amazon -- the single largest driver of global deforestation."

This report serves as a useful resources for humane educators and people interested in making humane choices. If you're someone who consumes meat and/or leather goods, you can contact the companies listed in the report and encourage them to stop purchasing products from Amazon cattle. If you're concerned about global warming, there are a variety of opportunities to raise your voice and insist on positive change. If you're a humane educator, this topic offers a great opportunity to explore the impact of our personal choices (such as buying products), the importance of our taking responsibility in helping enact systemic change (such as lobbying affluent governments to work toward the end of deforestation and for the protection of forests), and the challenging paradox that governments and businesses can have in working for economic growth without destroying people, animals and the planet (such as the Brazilian government's desire to support its economic growth by meeting demand for certain kinds of consumer products).

Find out more about Slaughtering the Amazon.

~ Marsha

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