A recent report from research firm Stand.earth found that more than 70 fashion brands, including Zara, Adidas, Coach and Nike, could indirectly boost deforestation in the Amazon.

Researchers looked at nearly 500,000 lines of customs data to try and track how leather moves through the supply chain, which is notoriously complex. The product has to go from cattle, to slaughterhouse, to tannery, then to leather processor, then to manufacturer before it reaches the marks.

They focused on JBS, a leather / meat company that is considered the biggest contributor to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest (despite the commitment to eliminate deforestation activities by 2035), and more analysis extensive coverage has focused on other leather companies around the world. The researchers note that the entire Brazilian leather industry, not just JBS, has a problem with deforestation. The study concludes that brands that source directly or indirectly from JBS and these other companies may be linked to deforestation.

The researchers crossed the export / import lists with the voluntary disclosure by companies of manufacturing suppliers, to see which brands were most at risk of sourcing leather grown on deforested land. Leather data was tracked by processors and manufacturers before it finally landed on the shelves of brands.