Deforestation-Free Leather Fund set up by WWF, Tapestry already on board
Campaign group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has unveiled an initiative called the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund.
Its aim is to collect an initial $10 million over the next three years from companies in the sector to fund initiatives that will support traceability and resilience in the upstream supply chain.
Projects that the new fund will finance will target places that, according to WWF, are at higher risk of environmental degradation. The solutions will accelerate what it called “deforestation- and conversion-free sourcing from those regions”. These projects will, initially, be in Brazil, but there is a possibility of expanding the work to other beef-producing countries in South America in the near future, it explained.
“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 WWF’s senior director for beef and leather supply chains, Fernando Bellese. “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.”
WWF has said it is already working to secure contributions to the fund from brands, retailers, leather processors and finished product manufacturers. The fund will enable these contributors to deliver “deforestation-free commitments”, it said, and send “strong market signals” to livestock farmers and meat companies.
New York-based group Tapestry is one of the first companies to make a financial commitment to the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund. This commitment is in addition to the Tapestry Foundation’s $3 million philanthropic grant to WWF in 2022, which has already led to the development of a system to enhance traceability of the leather value chain.
Speaking about the new Deforestation-Free Leather Fund, Tapestry’s vice-president for ESG and sustainability, Logan Duran, said: “We believe strongly in the importance of sustainability in leather manufacturing, and this commitment reaffirms that belief. We invite other companies, within and outside our industry, to join us in these efforts.”
Mr Duran added that one of the reasons Tapestry looks on the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund as “a positive development and a value-driver” is the support it will provide in meeting regulatory requirements, including the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
“We want companies to commit for three years,” Fernando Bellese concluded, “but we hope the fund will run for much longer. We hope it will run until deforestation is no longer a hot topic.”
