On April 11, non-profit organization Earthsite revealed that factories that supply clothing to fast fashion giants H&M and Zara are purchasing cotton that has been linked to environmental destruction and land grabbing in Brazil’s Cerrado region. revealed in a survey. The photo shows a woman carrying a Zara shopping bag. Photographed in March in Bilbao, Spain (2024 Reuters/Vincent West)
LONDON/RIO DE JANEIRO (11th Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A factory that supplies clothing to fast fashion giant H&M (HMb.ST) New Tab, opens new tab and Zara has been linked to environmental destruction and land grabs in Brazil’s Cerrado region A survey by the non-profit organization Earthsight revealed that the government is purchasing raw cotton. The Cerrado is a “biodiversity hotspot” where deforestation is rapidly increasing and valuable ecosystems are at risk.
The world’s attention is focused on deforestation caused by cattle farming and soybean cultivation in the Amazon basin. However, data from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) shows that in 2023, “deforestation alerts,” which use satellites to detect deforestation, soared by 44% in the relatively little-known tropical Cerrado savannah.
According to research by Earthsight, cotton is the “main culprit” for deforestation as Brazil aims to become the world’s largest cotton exporter. “Businesses and consumers in Europe and North America are disrupting in new ways – not with what they eat, but with what they wear,” the report said.
Earthsight researchers have linked two cotton producers to land grabbing and illegal deforestation in the Cerrado, and an Asian manufacturer that supplies clothing to major global brands such as H&M and Zara. We tracked thousands of shipping records exchanged between
These garment factories are located in countries such as Bangladesh and Indonesia.
A report says the sustainability standards of fashion industry organization Better Cotton, which aims to produce sustainable cotton, are “fundamentally flawed” and prevent consumers from buying cotton from Brazilian farms involved in environmental crimes. It doesn’t guarantee that you haven’t bought it.
Better Cotton certifies producers who meet standards for sustainability and labor practices, and covers 22% of the world’s cotton production.
H&M said it was “very concerned” about the findings of Earthsight’s investigation and had asked Better Cotton to conduct an independent investigation. A Better Cotton spokeswoman said the company was analyzing the findings.
A spokesperson for Inditex, which owns Zara, said Better Cotton “strictly prohibits” practices such as land grabbing and deforestation. He said he takes the allegations about Better Cotton “extremely seriously” and vowed to monitor the outcome of the investigation.
Brazil’s cotton exports have increased rapidly over the past 10 years due to a rapid increase in production in the Cerrado. Approximately half of the natural vegetation in the Cerrado has been converted to agricultural land, and laws restricting deforestation are less strict than in the Amazon.
The Cerrado savannah is larger than Mexico and contains forests and other vegetation essential to absorbing and storing carbon and reducing global warming. It is also home to endangered species such as the gray wolf and giant anteater.
The region is also an important water source for much of South America, but environmental researchers say the spread of growing water-intensive crops is threatening water supplies to traditional communities. There is. Local residents were also forced off generations of grazing land.
Agricultural expansion in the Cerrado is concentrated in the Matopiba region, which includes parts of the state of Bahia. This is the base of Agronegocio Estrondo, a huge estate that houses a variety of farmers, including cotton, soybeans, and corn.
Earthsight notes that in the past, Estrond set up checkpoints manned by armed guards to restrict the movement and activities of villagers. The Bahia state attorney general filed a lawsuit against Estrondo for land grabbing, which is currently pending. Estrond maintained that its operations on the property comply with Brazilian environmental laws.
Villagers who live nearby have been complaining for years, complaining that farmland has expanded on the plateau and they can only graze on well-preserved river edges.
Adan Batista Gómez, 62, a farmer who has lived in the area for generations, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that his nephew was shot in the leg by a man working in Estrondo in 2019. The incident occurred after he entered a farmland to retrieve a cow that had been captured by security personnel.
“They did it to scare us and make us give up our land,” Gomez said.
David Cleary, director of agriculture at the Nature Conservancy, said the big concerns are the impact cotton crops have on water sources and the lack of protection for nearby communities.
The heavy use of pesticides in cotton cultivation is another threat to water supplies. Brazil is the world’s largest buyer of pesticides and is notorious for allowing the use of chemicals banned in other countries.
However, Cleary said it is also true that agribusiness-led development has brought important economic benefits to the region, pointing to lower infant mortality rates in Brazil’s poorest rural areas.
Earthsight says laws regarding “ethical supply chains” need to be expanded and strengthened. For example, the European Union’s deforestation regulations do not cover cotton.
He also criticized the private initiative Better Cotton, saying it is not working. “The Better Cotton label was affixed to cotton that has been linked to land rights violations and environmental destruction in Bahia.”
A Better Cotton spokesperson said there was an urgent need for “government support” and law enforcement to address the issues raised by Earthsight.
However, for the villagers, the damage caused by the expansion of farmland is already irreversible. Gomez lamented, “The crops are now full and all the forests have been cut down.”
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2024-04-12 09:42:00
