Adidas and Nike Reject Leather from Rainforests

Clarks, Adidas, Nike, and Timberland are among the top-name shoe brands to demand a boycott on leather suppliers in Brazil who are destroying the Amazon rainforest in efforts to meet the growing demands of shoemakers. A study found that 17 percent of the world’s carbon emissions come from the burning of rainforests, which is done to clear the land for agriculture that supports both the meat and fashion industry. A ban on leather from areas of deforestation would dramatically decrease the environmental impact. While this is a big step for environmental activists, it is merely the tip of the iceberg: "What this does now is really put pressure on the U.K. food companies. The shoe companies have realized there is a problem and taken action, now it's up to the supermarkets to follow that lead,” said Greenpeace’s James Turner.