(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