Luxury Fashion Brands Unmasked: Leather with Traces of Deforestation
Londen, dinsdag, 24 juni 2025.
A shocking investigation by the British NGO Earthsight reveals that leading luxury brands like Coach, Fendi, and Louis Vuitton are purchasing leather with direct links to illegal cattle farms in the Amazon rainforest. The report demonstrates that almost all leather exports from the Brazilian state of Pará are processed in Italian tanneries for European markets, without adequate traceability of origin. The revelation casts a critical light on sustainability certifications in the fashion industry and raises questions about the true environmental impact of high-end fashion products. Some brands, including Chanel, have already taken steps in response to the investigation.
Earthsight’s Discoveries
The British NGO Earthsight has conducted an in-depth investigation into luxury fashion brands’ supply chains, with revealing results about leather origin [1]. The study uncovers that various leading luxury brands, including Coach, Fendi, and Louis Vuitton, are purchasing leather directly linked to illegal cattle farms in the Amazon rainforest [2].
Leather Chain from Pará to Europe
Almost all leather exports from the Brazilian state of Pará are transported to European countries, particularly Italy [3]. Two specific tanneries in the Veneto region, Conceria Cristina and Faeda, play a central role in processing and relabelling this leather as ‘Italian leather’ [2].
Fashion Brands’ Responses
Some brands have already responded to the findings. Chanel has recently terminated its relationship with Faeda after confidence in the traceability system was compromised [4]. Fendi and Hugo Boss have initiated investigations following the revelations [2].
Certification Systems Under Fire
The Leather Working Group certification, used by brands such as Coach, Fendi, and Louis Vuitton, is criticised for not mandating traceability of cattle to the original farm [5]. This makes the system ‘blind’ to potential farm-level misconduct [2].
Environmental Impact
The state of Pará has lost 18,600 million hectares of Amazon rainforest in the past 20 years, often without legal permission [6]. Rafael Pieroni from Earthsight emphasises that luxury product consumers wrongly trust that high prices guarantee they are not contributing to deforestation [2].