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Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Are H&M and Zara Harming Forests in Brazil?

Cotton linked to environmental and human rights abuses in Brazil is leaking into the supply chains of major fashion brands, a new investigation has found, prompting Zara-owner Inditex to send a scathing rebuke to the industry’s biggest sustainable cotton certifier.
A river cuts between lush vegetation in Brazil's Cerrado savannah.
The Cerrado savannah in Brazil is home to some of the world’s greatest biodiversity. More than half of the vast ecoregion has been cleared to make way for crops including cotton which feeds fashion’s supply chains. (Thomas Bauer/Earthsight 2023)

Better Cotton-certified producers linked to

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Further Reading

The Tech Race to Back Up Fashion’s Green Claims

Brands are turning to AI-powered analytics tools to improve their ability to measure environmental impact in the face of new government regulation. But getting hold of accurate data to support these assessments remains a difficult and largely manual challenge.

Sustainable Fashion’s Credibility Crisis

This week, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition suspended the use of its product labels, employed by companies like H&M and Amazon, as concerns over greenwashing engulfed one of the industry’s top sustainability tools.

About the author
Sarah Kent
Sarah Kent

Sarah Kent is Chief Sustainability Correspondent at The Business of Fashion. She is based in London and drives BoF's coverage of critical environmental and labour issues.

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