The leather industry shows potential to increase traceability
The beef issue is widely discussed and represents only 60% of the cattle's weight. One of the most important products derived from cattle is leather. A total of 39.5 million cattle hides supply a very pulverized value chain and, for this very reason, has the potential to strengthen the demand for the traceability of bovine production.
The Beef on Track program published a study entitled Traceability and certification in the leather value chain precisely to shed light on this matter. Developed by Imaflora’s project coordinator Lisandro Inakake de Souza, and by expert consultants Álvaro Flores and Maria Guida Junges, Info Brief 4 addresses the importance of certifications, the signaling of local company engagement in the traceability issue, and the need for more transparency throughout the production chain.
According to the Centre for the Brazilian Tanning Industry (CICB), leather is used in the industries of footwear and fashion in general, furniture and auto making, food and pharmaceuticals and others, but most of the production, around 80%, is for export. The leather sector in Brazil has 244 industrial plants belonging to 207 business groups, ranging from multinationals to family businesses. The sector employs about 30,000 workers and accounts for more than USD 2 billion each year, according to CICB.
Customers in this chain are requesting more information about the origin of the raw materials, mainly buyers linked to the fashion market, pressured by consumers and the market itself, especially in the footwear sector. A Global Canopy assessment has identified 15 key companies based in Europe and the United States that could play an important role in reducing deforestation in the leather chain. They include large automobile manufacturers such as General Motors and Volkswagen, furniture retailers such as Ashley Furniture Industries and DFS, and footwear companies such as Adidas and Nike. Italy is the second largest importer of Brazilian bovine leather after China.
The Accountability Framework completes two years and continues to drive actions for deforestation-free chains in the Amazon and Cerrado regions
Imaflora was inspired by the initiative's criteria when creating the Beef on Track and Soy on Track programs, which work towards compliance with sector agreements in the beef and soy chains
Beef on Track Program records history in book
From Commitment to Action: the track of responsible beef in the Brazilian Amazon. This book creates a time line of the commitments adopted by the cattle-ranching chain since the end of the 2010s
Moneytimes: Frigol concludes cattle traceability from farm to table with QR Code
An article in Moneytimes shows that Frigol announced the conclusion of the first stage of its origin control program with the implementation of social and environmental traceability for 100% of its direct suppliers.