The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has launched the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund, set up to enable and support initiatives that make leather supply chains more sustainable, partly by improving the traceability and resilience of the chains.
The fund will target geographies with ecosystems at higher risk of environmental degradation, initially including operations in Brazil, with the possibility of expanding to other beef-producing countries in South America in the near future.
“While leather is a by-product of the beef and dairy industries, it still carries responsibility for embedded impacts and emissions in the supply chain,” said Fernando Bellese, senior director for beef and leather supply chains at WWF. “Companies that use leather, including those in the fashion, automotive and furniture industries, have unique leverage within the supply chain to encourage and support more sustainable practices by influencing beef and tannery operations.”
The WWF believes that collective action increases the chances of success in reducing the environmental impacts of beef and leather production, and it will seek contributions to the fund from brands, retailers, leather processors, and manufacturers. Aviation leather companies working in or linked to South America can expect to hear from the WWF very soon.
The fund aims to help to accelerate improvements in supply chains, enabling companies to deliver their deforestation-free commitments, send strong market signals to cattle ranchers, beef producers, and leather producers, and contribute to more sustainable leather production.
Tapestry, Inc., a New York-based house of lifestyle brands including Coach and Kate Spade, is one of the first brands to make a financial commitment to the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund. That commitment is in addition to the Tapestry Foundation’s US$3 million philanthropic grant to WWF in 2022, donated to help develop an innovative system to enhance the traceability of the leather value chain in Brazil and convene the industry.
The Deforestation-Free Leather Fund will support initiatives in the following areas:
Traceability systems to verify responsible sourcing. The fund will extend existing initiatives and support new efforts to scale adoption and align effective systems that enable end-to-end traceability in cattle supply chains.
Farm-level investments to promote the supply of deforestation-and conversion-free leather. The fund will make direct investments to address farm-level challenges and opportunities to improve cattle production.
Farm regularisation to support market access. The fund will assist farmers and ranchers to formalise operations, rehabilitate degraded farmland, and establish pathways for continuous improvement.
The fund aims to support the ear-tagging and individual traceability of one million heads of cattle in the first three years of activity, promoting the recovery of 45,000 hectares (111,200 acres) of degraded land in the same period.
The WWF will oversee the governance and day-to-day management of the fund, aiming to collect US$10 million from companies to cover the first three years of on-the-ground operations. For brands and retailers, contributions will be requested based on their annual revenues. For leather processors and manufacturers, contributions will be requested based on the number of hides they process per year.
