Statement regarding the Greenpeace report “Slaughtering the Amazon”
Herzogenaurach, 29 May 2009 – On May 29, 2009 Greenpeace issued a report “Slaughtering the Amazon”. The report outlines Greenpeace’ findings from their investigations regarding the environmental consequences of the growing deforestation of the Amazon rain forests caused by the expanding cattle sector in Brazil. Greenpeace claims that the adidas Group is supporting these practices by sourcing raw-hides from suppliers operating in Brazil who are now being held directly accountable for the deforestation by the Greenpeace report.
It is important to state that we share the Greenpeace concerns regarding the environmental impact of illegal deforestation of Amazon rain forest on our planet’s climate.
The adidas Group is committed to sustainable business practices and we continuously strive to tackle the challenges associated with our goal.
The adidas Group does not source raw materials from any endangered or threatened species. Our policies prohibit using leathers from animals that have been inhumanely treated, whether animals are wild or farmed. It is to be stressed that all leather used are by-products of the meat production.
We obtained confirmation from our leather suppliers sourcing raw hides from Brazil that they fully support the National Plan of the Amazon Forest Clearing Prevention and Fighting (PPCDAM). We will further investigate and continue to engage with our suppliers in this matter.
The adidas Group’s leather suppliers follow standards of the Leather Working Group (LWG). adidas Group helped estalish the LWG multi-stakeholder group and its objective is to develop and maintain a protocol that promotes environmentally-sound business practices within the footwear leather industry. Together with our partners in the LWG, we have been in discussion with Greenpeace and invited them to our next meeting that will take place in a few months. We believe that the issues raised by Greenpeace can best be handled by the LWG on a joint basis. This direct engagement would help us to understand Greenpeace’ actual dialogues with other industries in which much larger volumes of hides are sourced compared to the sporting goods industry. We believe this will help align individual industry engagements and approaches.