Nike establishes
policy to protect the Amazon and the climate23
July 2009
International — Just
a few short weeks after the release of Slaughtering
the Amazon Nike has announced new standards
for keeping leather made from Amazon destruction
out of its shoes.
Following the release
of our report, Nike contacted us because
they wanted to work towards a new leather
sourcing policy that didn’t contribute to
the destruction of the Amazon or climate
change. Now they’ll be adhering to those
standards until there can be guarantees
that none of the leather and other cattle
products in Brazil are coming from deforested
Amazon land.
"Nike has set a
great precedent for Timberland, Adidas,
Reebok, and Clarks to follow,” said Greenpeace
forests campaigner Lindsey Allen. “Brazil’s
cattle industry, which supplies leather
for shoes, is responsible for about 80 percent
of all deforestation 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 sets the example
Our three year investigation
into the Brazilian cattle industry exposed
the many complicated steps in the global
trade in leather and beef products from
Brazilian corporations Bertin, JBS and Marfrig.
We’ve identified hundreds of ranches belonging
to these part-Brazilian-government-owned
companies operating 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. In
addition to the horrible destruction of
the land, data reveals trade with ranches
using slavery as well as a Bertin slaughterhouse
receiving supplies of cattle from an illegal
ranch occupying Indian Lands.
The roar of destruction,
slavery and injustice becomes muffled as
the slaughterhouses in the Amazon region
ship their hides and beef to company facilities
thousands of miles away in the south of
Brazil. The hides are sent south for further
processing before they are exported. In
a number of cases, additional processing
also takes place in import countries before
the final product actually reaches the market.
With so many steps along the way, criminal
or “dirty” supplies of cattle are being
“laundered” through this supply chain to
an unwitting global market of customers.
Report speeds up race
to save the Amazon
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 day after publication,
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, several
major grocery store chains in Brazil, including
Wal-Mart and Carrefour, banned beef purchased
from the farms accused by the Para state
prosecutor’s office 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 US$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. Unfortunately, the other
companies linked to Amazon deforestation
in our report continue to offer nothing
but excuses.
UPDATE: Timberland has announced a new policy
agreement with Greenpeace that will help
ensure the leather used in its boots and
shoes is not contributing to new deforestation
in the Amazon Rainforest or global warming.
The policy will not only guide Timberland’s
leather procurement from Brazil to ensure
it is not supporting deforestation, but
also sets a deadline for Timberland’s suppliers
to publicly commit to a moratorium on cattle
expansion into the Amazon. Read more.
Nike sets the example
Our three year investigation into the Brazilian
cattle industry exposed the many complicated
steps in the global trade in leather and
beef products from Brazilian corporations
Bertin, JBS and Marfrig. We’ve identified
hundreds of ranches belonging to these part-Brazilian-government-owned
companies operating 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. In
addition to the horrible destruction of
the land, data reveals trade with ranches
using slavery as well as a Bertin slaughterhouse
receiving supplies of cattle from an illegal
ranch occupying Indian Lands.
The roar of destruction,
slavery and injustice becomes muffled as
the slaughterhouses in the Amazon region
ship their hides and beef to company facilities
thousands of miles away in the south of
Brazil. The hides are sent south for further
processing before they are exported. In
a number of cases, additional processing
also takes place in import countries before
the final product actually reaches the market.
With so many steps along the way, criminal
or “dirty” supplies of cattle are being
“laundered” through this supply chain to
an unwitting global market of customers.
Report speeds up race
to save the Amazon
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 day after publication,
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, several
major grocery store chains in Brazil, including
Wal-Mart and Carrefour, banned beef purchased
from the farms accused by the Para state
prosecutor’s office 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 US$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. Unfortunately, the other
companies linked to Amazon deforestation
in our report continue to offer nothing
but excuses.
Demand Lula take the
right steps
The Brazilian government still refuses to
get out of bed with the powerful agribusiness
industry. And, while President Lula talks
the talk at the international climate negotiations,
he has yet to prove he will take the leadership
required to help protect us from climate
change by preserving the Amazon. Forests
are a vital defense against global climate
change and any effective deal to save the
climate must include a deal to protect forests.
We need Lula and all
other Heads of State to take personal responsibility
for securing an effective climate deal by
attending the Climate Summit in Copenhagen
in December and taking immediate action
to guarantee a positive outcome.
+ More
William Shatner and
Greenpeace leave HP a reminder
28 July 2009 - International
— Sometimes companies need to be reminded
of their environmental commitments--like
HP's 2007 promise to stop putting toxic
chemicals in their computer products. That's
why our activists climbed to the top of
HP's global headquarters in Palo Alto California
today, and William Shatner (yes, Captain
James T. Kirk) recorded a special voice
message for all the staff in the building.
We painted a huge message
"Hazardous Products" onto the
roof of the Hewlett-Packard building (the
paint was toxic-free). Meanwhile a voice
mail from actor William Shatner was delivered
to all the phones in the building with an
automated system.
William Shatner's message
to HP
HP was being called-out
for backtracking on its commitments to phase
out toxic chemicals from its products by
the end of this year. It cost them a penalty
point in our Guide to Greener Electronics
last month, along with Dell and Lenovo.
So to get them back onto the straight and
narrow, we're delivering reminders to the
company at their buildings, in the press
and online.
Today's action follows
similar demonstrations at HP offices in
China and the Netherlands highlighting the
continued presence of toxic chemicals in
its products.
Shameful flip-flop
Earlier this year, HP postponed its 2007
commitment to phase out dangerous substances
such as brominated flame retardants (BFR)
and PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic from
their computer products (excluding their
server and printer lines) from 2009 to 2011.
It's shameful that HP is continuing to put
hazardous products on the market, despite
the promises it made. It should be following
the lead of companies like Apple, which
has led the sector in phasing out these
toxic chemicals.
Others are getting off
the toxic stuff
Apple's new computer lines, virtually free
of PVC and completely BFR-free, demonstrate
the technical feasibility and supply-chain
readiness of producing alternatives to these
hazardous substances. Dell, Lenovo and Acer
have also stayed ahead of HP, putting models
on the market that are free of, or at least
significantly reduced in their use of, PVC
and BFRs.
So it can be done, other
companies are moving much faster that the
world's number one seller of PCs. If HP
wants to remain a market leader and not
just another purveyor of harmful products,
it needs to get back on track and eliminate
BFRs and PVC from its products by the end
of this year, as promised.
