Fashion giants H&M and Zara have been using cotton from farms in Brazil linked to deforestation, corruption, and violence, according to a report by Earthsight.
The report, titled "Fashion Crimes," revealed that H&M and Zara sourced "tainted cotton" from farms in Brazil's fragile Cerrado savanna. These farms are operated by SLC Agricola and the Horita Group, two of Brazil's major agribusiness firms.
The Cerrado, known as the most biodiverse savanna on Earth, has been disappearing due to Brazil's agribusiness industry turning to the region for cotton production.
From 2014 to 2023, at least 816,000 tonnes of cotton were exported from these farms. Despite their history of court injunctions and fines for clearing Cerrado wilderness, the cotton was shipped to Asian clothing manufacturers.
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The cotton from these farms in Bahia was supplied to manufacturers whose clients include H&M and Zara.Earthsight's report exposes flaws in the Better Cotton certification program, as the "tainted cotton" was labelled as ethical. Better Cotton conducted an audit in response to the report's concerns.
Parent companies of Zara and H&M expressed taking the allegations seriously and urged Better Cotton to release audit findings. The Brazilian Cotton Producers' Association provided evidence countering the report's claims.
ABRAPA, the Brazilian Cotton Producers' Association, condemned practices harming the environment and communities.
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