Footwear companies take action on rainforest leather

Following another quality investigation by Greenpeace, the Guardian reports that "Some of the world's top footwear brands, including Clarks, Adidas, Nike and Timberland, have demanded an immediate moratorium on destruction of the Amazon rainforest from their leather suppliers in Brazil.

The move is the first major development since the Guardian revealed a three-year undercover investigation by Greenpeace in June. The investigation said leading Brazilian suppliers of leather and beef for products sold in Britain had obtained cattle from farms involved in illegal deforestation"

With little traction gained by the Brazilian government in the halting of destruction of the rainforest, it comes a welcome move to see business taking the lead and using the power of their supply chain management to change the way forests are protected in Brazil.