Nike Fights Deforestation, Won't Use Leather From Amazon-Bred Cattle

Sportswear giant Nike Inc. announced that it will stop using leather from cattle raised in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, saying the move is part of the company's commitment to curbing the region's deforestation.

"We understand how important rainforests are to the health of the planet and the implications deforestation has on climate change and global warming" the statement added.

A statement from Greenpeace praised the company, saying the company's decision was prompted by a recent report from the environmental group showing that leather and meat produced from cattle in the Amazon are major contributors to the region's deforestation.

"We applaud the leadership that Nike is taking on the critical issue of Amazon deforestation," Greenpeace's national campaigns director, Lisa Finaldi, said.

According to Greenpeace, rearing cattle in the Amazon causes 14 % of the deforestation each year around the globe, and tropical logging emits about 17 % of the gases held responsible for climate change.

The Greenpeace report, "Slaughtering the Amazon," which was released in June, "every eight seconds, an acre of Amazon rainforest is destroyed for Brazilian cattle ranching, which is the biggest single driver of deforestation in the world."

Last month, the Greenpeace report prompted Brazil's three largest supermarket chains, Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Pao de Acuar, to announce that they would suspend contracts with suppliers found to be involved in Amazon deforestation, the Brazilian Association of Supermarkets said on its Web site.