Nike boycotts Amazon-sourced leather

Sportswear giant Nike has announced that it will stop using leather originating in Brazil's Amazon region to help stop the deforestation of the area's rainforests.

After "extensive" talks with its leather suppliers, the company said it has devised a sourcing policy aimed at ensuring materials can be accurately traced.

Nike said its decision was inspired by environmental group Greenpeace's recent report, which found that cattle companies are destroying acres of the Amazon rainforest as part of their operations.

The company also said it has signed Greenpeace's Commit or Cancel principles, which form a key part of the environmental group's fight to stop deforestation.

Greenpeace forest campaigner Sarah Shoraka said: "Nike has recognised that trampling over the Amazon rainforest to produce leather for its trainers is an unacceptable way of doing business.

"[The company] has taken a bold step and now we need to see other companies follow their lead."

Greenpeace's Slaughtering the Amazon report found that a number of global brands such as Adidas, Reebok and Clarks are complicit in the deforestation of the Amazon by using unsustainable leather.

Written by Aaron Akinyemi

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