(DIR) Home
        
        
       Zara and H&M's jeans linked to deforestation in Brazil's Cerrado
        
 (HTM) Source
        
       ----------------------------------------------------------------------
        
       Cotton fields cultivated by SLC Agricola, in the state of Bahia
       (Brazil), in June 2023. THOMAS BAUER / EARTHSIGHT
        
       Soy is not the only crop ruining the Cerrado forests in eastern
       Brazil. Cotton fields are also contributing to the disappearance of
       this wooded savanna, a precious carbon dioxide sink covering more than
       1.5 million square kilometers. In its investigation "Fashion Crimes:
       European retail giants linked to dirty Brazilian cotton," published on
       Thursday, April 11, the British non-profit organization Earthsight
       denounces the failings of the intensive cultivation of this precious
       treasure exported from Brazil to Asia to make jeans for Inditex, owner
       of Zara, the world's number-one clothing brand, and H&M.
        
       The environmental advocacy group has previously examined the
       responsibility of retailers in the destruction of natural habitats. In
       2021, it investigated the wood used by Ikea and the Forest Stewardship
       Council (FSC) label supposed to indicate the materials used in
       production are recyclable and sustainably sourced.
        
       In Brazil, 12 months of investigation, analysis of data, court
       records, satellite images, and interviews with farmers have
       established that two major Brazilian cotton producers, Grupo Horita
       and SLC Agricola, profit from illegal deforestation in the western
       part of the state of Bahia and export their bales obtaining Better
       Cotton (BC) certification, a label supposed to guarantee consumers the
       "best cotton," in Zara and H&M stores.
        
       ## Illegal land clearing
        
       Based on court rulings and fines imposed by Brazilian public
       authorities, the three authors of this report were able to establish
       that these two companies farm fields that were created by illegal land
       clearing. In the western state of Bahia, SLC Agricola, Brazil's
       leading cotton producer, operates 44,000 hectares of cotton
       plantations. Grupo Horita is said to own 140,000 hectares in the
       region, alternating between cotton, corn, and soybean crops.
        
       During a cotton harvest by Grupo Horita, in the state of Bahia
       (Brazil), in June 2023. THOMAS BAUER/EARTHSIGHT
        
       "In 2014, Bahia's environment agency found 25,153 hectares of illegal
       deforestation on Horita farms at Estrondo," the NGO pointed out. "In
       2020 the same agency indicated it could not find permits for 11,700
       hectares of deforestation carried out by the company between 2010 and
       2018. Ibama, a federal law enforcement agency, fined Horita over 20
       times between 2010 and 2019, totaling $4.5 million, for environmental
       violations," it added. SLC is also alleged to be responsible for the
       deforestation of thousands of hectares in one of its plantations in
       2022, according to the NGO.
        
       The expansion of crops has taken place at the expense of public land.
       Particularly in the municipalities of Correntina and Formosa do Rio
       Preto, where, despite environmental conservation policies, thousands
       of hectares of forest have disappeared to make way for large fields,
       stated Earthsight.
        
       **You have 59.1% of this article left to read. The rest is for
       subscribers only.**
        
        
        
        
       ______________________________________________________________________
                                                 Served by Flask-Gopher/2.2.1