Finance & Investment Supply Chain

WWF Calls on Brands to Lead Shift to Deforestation-Free Leather

New funding mechanism designed to help companies achieve deforestation-free leather supply chains through increased transparency and collective action.

Published 1 month ago | About a 5 minute read

Image: Tapestry

This week, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launched the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund — an opportunity for companies to walk their talk around improving the sustainability of leather supply chains through strategic investments to improve traceability and resilience.

One of the world’s most ubiquitous textiles — found in goods including footwear, apparel, furniture, car interiors and more — the environmental impacts of cattle ranching, including rampant deforestation, make the leather industry a major contributor to climate change. While more and more major brands are exploring plant-based, circular and non-bovine alternatives, uptake is not nearly fast enough to upset global demand for conventional leather — so, collective measures to drive significant supply chain improvements are imperative.

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 an eye to 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.”

Fueling collective impact

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As is the case with nearly all sustainability-related business challenges, particularly when it comes to supply chains, collective action increases the likelihood of success in addressing the environmental impacts of beef and leather production; 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, and beef and leather producers; and contribute to more sustainable leather production.

Since 2023, WWF has been a leading partner of the Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather — a joint initiative with Leather Working Group (LWG) and Textile Exchange that asks brands and retailers to commit to sourcing leather from deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains by 2030 or earlier. The Call to Action has 22 signatory companies, representing more than $300 billion in annual revenue.

“The fund is an option for companies in the Deforestation-Free Call to Action for Leather (but also others) that have committed to supporting their supply chains,” Bellese told Sustainable Brands® (SB) via email. “We have seen that brands and retailers often don’t have the experience and connections to identify meaningful initiatives in supporting the transition to more responsible practices at the raw-material production level; so, we want to support them by connecting with projects that have already been tested, have the capacity to be scaled or are already delivering meaningful results. And by working collectively, they have the opportunity to increase the significance of those projects.”

Leading by example

Tapestry, Inc — New York-based parent company of luxury lifestyle brands including Coach and Kate Spade, and signatory of the Call to Action — is the first company to contribute to the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund. That commitment builds on the Tapestry Foundation’s $3 million grant to WWF in 2022 to enhance traceability of the leather value chain in Brazil and convene the industry.

During a press briefing for the launch of the Fund, Tapestry VP of ESG and Sustainability Logan Duran shared that leather is the company’s highest-volume material — comprising 53 percent of materials across its portfolio of brands — and LWG-certified tanneries provide 90 percent of its leather. He said Tapestry is on track to fully trace and map its raw materials by the end of 2025.

“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,” Duran said in a statement. “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 of 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.

In the first three years of activity, the fund aims to support the ear-tagging and individual traceability of 1 million head of Brazilian cattle and promote the recovery of 45,000 hectares (111,200 acres) of degraded land. Bellese told SB the goal is to begin directing fund contributions by Q4 2025.

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.

During the briefing, Bellese pointed out the utility of mechanisms such as the Deforestation-Free Leather Fund in the face of increased regulatory risks — the EU’s Deforestation Regulation comes into effect for imports at the end of this year — and increasing consumer preference for sustainably produced and sourced products.

“Sometimes it’s very hard to identify relevant projects to support supply chains,” Bellese said. “We want to make that connection.”