Leather—whether used in apparel, footwear, furniture or automobiles—has long been heralded for its timeless, durable and luxury qualities. As a byproduct of beef production, it is also considered a natural, sustainable material. But that doesn’t tell the whole story.
Leather production starts back at the ranch, where cattle farming accounts for about 40 percent of all GHG emissions from agri-food systems. It also contributes to deforestation when not managed correctly.
This environmental impact underscores the need for systemic transformation—both to mitigate climate change and ensure ethical supply chains. Forests also promote ecological biodiversity, balance water cycles, and help combat climate change by acting as carbons sinks.
While many companies are committed to more sustainable supply chains, driven by consumer awareness and increasingly stringent sustainability standards, bridging the gap between leather-loving brands and their upstream leather supply chains has proven challenging.
To drive change, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently established the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at decoupling leather production from harmful environmental practices.
“The Deforestation-Free Leather Fund is a collective mechanism that we are creating with the idea of helping producers, farmers in deforestation risk areas, to transition to more a sustainable and more efficient approach,” said Fernando Bellese, senior director for beef and leather supply chains, WWF, in a fireside chat with Lauren Parker, director, Fairchild Studio.
The effort launched with a 2022 grant from Tapestry Foundation (part of the parent company of leather-rich Coach and Kate Spade New York), but the industry as a whole must step up. While brands are motivated to implement deforestation-free supply chains, their reach and understanding often remain limited.
“Sometimes you have companies that want to go through this transformation to help change their supply chains, but they don’t know how to do it,” said Bellese. “They are very far from what happens on the upstream part of their supply chain, so we need to make that connection.”
Additionally, the leather segment only accounts for 1 percent of slaughterhouse revenue, limiting the ability of any single company to drive transformation. Collaboration is key.
Brands also need education on how deforestation exacerbates climate change, increasing the quantity and strength of extreme events, which affect businesses directly, including in Brazil, where the Fund is focusing first. “We saw floods in the South of Brazil that affected over 45,000 factories, many of [which] are part of the fashion footwear supply chain,” said Bellese. “So, protecting forests helps us to make businesses more sustainable.”
The Fund has laid out ambitious goals on both land recovery and traceability. It will support the transition to more sustainable practices, leading to the recovery of at least 45,000 hectares of degraded land and the inclusion of one million heads of cattle in traceability and monitoring systems.
To watch the fireside chat, click the video above.
To learn more about the WWF’s Deforestation-Free Leather Fund, click here.
