World Wildlife Fund (WWF) today unveiled the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund, an opportunity for companies to financially support strategic initiatives to improve the sustainability of leather supply chains. Drawing on WWF's 25+ years of experience helping companies work on sustainable supply chains, the fund will make investments to improve the traceability and resilience of leather supply chains.
The Deforestation-Free Leather Fund will target geographies with ecosystems at higher risk of environmental degradation and focus on solutions that accelerate deforestation- and conversion-free sourcing from those regions. The projects will initially include operations in Brazil, with the possibility of expanding to other beef-producing countries in South America in the near future.
"While leather is a byproduct of the beef and dairy industries, it still carries responsibility for embedded impacts and emissions in the supply chain," said Fernando Bellese, Senior Director for Beef and Leather Supply Chains at WWF. "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."
Collective action increases the likelihood of success in addressing the environmental impacts of beef and leather production, and WWF will seek contributions to the fund from brands, retailers, leather processors, and manufacturers. The fund will help to accelerate supply-chain improvements, enabling companies to deliver their deforestation-free commitments, send strong market signals to cattle ranchers, beef producers, and leather producers, and contribute to more sustainable leather production.
Tapestry, Inc., a leading New York-based house of lifestyle brands including Coach and Kate Spade, is one of the first brands to make a financial commitment to the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund. That commitment is in addition to the Tapestry Foundation's s $3 million philanthropic grant to WWF in 2022 to develop an innovative system to enhance traceability of the leather value chain in Brazil and convene the industry.
"Tapestry's investment in the fund continues and expands the company's commitment to addressing climate change through long-term sustainable solutions and immediate actions," said Logan Duran, Vice President of ESG and Sustainability at Tapestry. "We believe strongly in the importance of sustainability in leather manufacturing, and this commitment reaffirms that belief. We invite other companies, both within and outside our industry, to join us in these efforts."
The Deforestation-Free Leather Fund will support initiatives in the following areas:
- Traceability systems to verify responsible sourcing: Extend existing initiatives and support new efforts to scale adoption and align effective systems that enable end-to-end traceability in cattle supply chains.
- Farm-level investments to promote the supply of deforestation-and conversion-free leather: Direct investments to address farm-level challenges and opportunities to improve cattle production.
- Farm regularization to support market access:Assist farmers and ranchers to formalize operations, rehabilitate degraded farmland, and establish pathways for continuous improvement.
The fund aims to support the ear-tagging and individual traceability of 1 million head of cattle in the first three years of activity, promoting the recovery of 45,000 hectares (111,200 acres) of degraded land in the same period.
WWF will oversee the governance and day-to-day management of the fund, aiming to collect $10 million from companies to cover the first three years of on-the-ground operations. For brands and retailers, contributions will be requested based on annual revenue. For leather processors and manufacturers, contributions will be requested based on the number of hides processed annually.
