A British non-governmental organization traced the cotton used by clothing manufacturers to Brazil, where “responsible” production has caused land grabs and human rights violations.
The “responsible cotton” used by clothing chains H&M and Zara has been linked to deforestation, land grabbing and human rights violations in Brazil. According to a report by the British non-governmental organization Earthsight, there are extensive illegalities associated with the cotton used by clothing chains.
For a year, Earthsight investigated the problems of cotton production in Brazil by studying satellite images and going through court documents and logistics papers. The organization also obtained information with the help of undercover roles.
Based on the report, more than 800,000 tons of irresponsibly produced cotton have been exported from Brazil. Cotton has been exported to clothing manufacturers in Asia, from where it has ended up on the shelves of fast fashion chains around the world.
The cotton comes from the tropical savanna region of the Cerrado, where large Brazilian cotton farms have been expanding their production area for decades. According to Earthsight, more than half of the savanna area has been cleared for agricultural use. Land has often been taken from local communities and often by force.
– Although we all know what soy and beef have done to Brazil’s forests, the impact of cotton has largely gone unnoticed. Despite that, crops have grown in recent decades and become an environmental disaster, says the director of Earthsight Sam Lawson in the bulletin.
The clothing companies plan to investigate the events
Despite the abuses, Brazilian cotton had received Better Cotton’s responsibility certificate. Better Cotton is a monitoring system established by companies and NGOs. It has been criticized for weak supervision.
H&M and Zara say they mainly use BC-certified cotton. Almost half of the BC-certified cotton comes from Brazil.
Nearly 250 million items of clothing and home textiles were made from the cotton tracked by Earthsight.
In its response to the organization’s report, H&M says that it takes the accusations very seriously. Inditex, which owns Zara, also states that it takes the information seriously. Both companies say they will sort it out with the Better Cotton project.
– These companies talk about good practices, social responsibility and certification systems. They claim to be investing in traceability and sustainability, but all this now looks like the same scam as their high street shop windows, Lawson says in a statement.
The survey was reported first in Finland Helsingin sanomat newspaper.