Deforestation in the Driver’s Seat

The Amazon rainforest in Brazil is being razed for cattle ranching, much of it illegal, with dire consequences for indigenous peoples and traditional communities, biodiversity and the global climate.

EIA’s investigation reveals the links between leather car seats for the global auto industry and cattle raised on illegally deforested land in the Brazilian Amazon. Through data analysis, satellite imagery and field investigations, EIA pieced together complex supply chains and uncovered cattle laundering schemes used to hide the illegal origin of cows. The report shows how crucial it is for Brazil to mandate transparent traceability mechanisms for the full cattle life cycle, for companies to track their indirect suppliers, and for major consumer markets to pass and implement effective due diligence laws that also require full traceability in order to keep commodities that contribute to deforestation and crime out of supply chains.

Read the press release.

Read the report.

Leia em português