Influencer dynamics
Leaders occupying different vantage points in the story of Brazilian leather reveal how they are working together to connect the dots backwards, to find a more accurate and transparent path forward.
During a seminar on traceability, transparency and circularity in the leather supply chain at industry exhibition Lineapelle in Milan in February, senior manager for traceability at US fashion group Tapestry, Earl Shank, spoke alongside the senior director for beef and leather supply chains at nature conservation organisation WWF, Fernando Bellese. They addressed the topic of leather sourcing in the contemporary Brazilian and South American context. The title of their talk was ‘Building more sustainable supply chains: leveraging collaboration to fight deforestation’. Altogether, six presentations were delivered as part of the seminar, which was jointly coordinated by Italian tanners’ association UNIC and the fair’s organisers.
A hot topic
Ties between WWF and Tapestry, owner of high-end footwear and leathergoods brands Stuart Weitzman, Coach and Kate Spade, became closer last year, following receipt by WWF of a grant from Tapestry’s non-profit arm, the Tapestry Foundation. “We are just now finalising the rules of engagement,” Mr Bellese said of progress made so far, but the main goal is to facilitate a pre-competitive environment in which industry stakeholders and “leading companies” can work together to develop a deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) supply chain, starting with Brazil. It is hoped that the initiative could eventually take root elsewhere on the continent, but for now the emphasis is on using Tapestry’s funding to establish focus groups, implement reforestation projects and support local cattle-raising communities, particularly through the creation of new incentive tools, around which “there is a lot of work happening”, the WWF spokesman explained. Market arrangements and relationships, including with indirect suppliers, are especially ripe for improvement, he suggests.
Mr Shank clearly agrees. Tapestry will not cut and run, as he puts it, on its Brazilian leather supply partners. Citing his co-presenter, who himself appeared to reference data most accredited to a 2019 paper authored by Green Canopy researcher Christina MacFarquhar, the brand’s senior manager for traceability proposed that similarly minded international buyers of Brazilian leather should harness their economic leverage to spur positive change on the ground, since 80% of the country’s leather, by his calculation, is exported. Despite the risks involved, “the opportunity we see is to be that partner that helps spark the acceleration of a DCF standard,” he told the audience. In other words, it is important that Tapestry retains its seat at the table, lest it lose its influence to inspire positive social and environmental changes in and around the leather supply chain.
Given that Brazilian beef production is projected to increase in the coming years, the challenge – or opportunity – to make the most of its associated materials, instead of simply letting them go to waste, will likewise only grow, Mr Bellese concurs. Regarding deforestation and other issues, “the worst thing that can happen” is that businesses merely steer clear of specific regions to avoid the problem, rather than facing it and ultimately becoming “part of the solution”. WWF and others are there to help, he said, but ignoring what could otherwise be addressed, perhaps collectively, serves to further weaken the wider supply ecosystem. If a departing company’s link in the chain is later replaced by an operator with lower business standards, as has been the case “many times before”, according to the beef and leather expert, who worked at leather manufacturing groups JBS Couros and PrimeAsia before joining WWF, it is not hard to imagine how the ripple effect could end up making things worse for the broader community.
The measure of a market
Tapestry and its peers in Europe, China and elsewhere have a role to play in making sure customers’ views on DCF supply chains are relayed to producers, in Mr Bellese’s view, to provide them with impetus for improvement. Fostering this kind of healthy dialogue with suppliers is essential, not only in the current climate, but also for maintaining market access and operational sustainability in the context of ramping up DCF-related regulations around the world. WWF pilots under way in Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, for example, can certainly point to where reimagined approaches could fill in the gaps, as well as use the value of different incentive mechanisms. Systems designed to monitor varying degrees of traceability are already in place. Stirring innumerable new ideas into the mix is likely to result in more confusion than clarity, he opines, hence the need to work together to identify, interrogate and scale viable existing solutions, as opposed to trying to reinvent the wheel in a vacuum.
Things may not be simple in Brazil, Mr Bellese says of his native land, but they are also not that complicated. Confidentiality laws do make it harder to obtain information from indirect suppliers, who, at the moment, must volunteer the data required, but there are things the industry can do to resolve tensions in this area. One workaround he suggests is to offer monetary incentives for traceability records and key figures, potentially leading to answered questions, better practices and new routes forward. Other tools available include WWF’s DCF implementation toolkit, downloadable from its website, made to connect stakeholders with suitable resources to support them in mapping out their next steps, based on a series of survey responses. Users are sometimes invited to form groups in which they may exchange knowledge and share their experiences. To a similar end, the not-for-profit works closely with partners such as the Centre for the Brazilian Tanning Industry (CICB) in-country, in addition to UNIC and the Institute of Quality Certification for the Leather Sector (ICEC) in Italy, US materials standards body Textile Exchange and global multistakeholder organisation Leather Working Group (LWG) to continually advance its own understanding.
Counting the cost
Tapestry, for its part, has been working since 2019 towards being able to trace at least 95% of its raw materials by 2025. Calculated by weight, leather represented 54% of its material use last year, according to its corporate responsibility report. Two major targets for the company’s leather usage specifically include ensuring 90% of its supply is sourced from tanneries that meet either LWG gold or silver standard by 2025, plus being able to trace at least 10% back to regenerative farms, recycled stock or “next-generation materials” by 2030. According to the report, 80% of the leather Tapestry brands used in 2022 was tanned in a LWG gold or silver tannery. In mid-April, it joined circular economy charity Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s network and fashion initiative advisory board, which it followed with the launch of a new sub-brand from flagship company Coach, Coachtopia, in select markets. Targeted at Gen Z, the debut collection features bags, small leathergoods and footwear, all made from upcycled or recycled materials. Near-field communication (NFC) chips added during leather finishing provide a window into each article’s design, impact and journey “over multiple lives”, with an emphasis on the materials.
Venturing into the realm of DFC supply chains in South America is testament to Tapestry’s ambition and sensitivity as customers mature and flesh out their awareness of sustainability and its many strands, and still fresher faces begin to enter the arena. In providing WWF with seed funding for its DFC leather project, however, the group has demonstrated a commitment to leaving a far deeper legacy, inclusive and respectful of all parties involved, especially those in situ. “We knew this problem was bigger than just us,” Mr Shank told the audience in Milan, “and we knew we could take it on as a business and do our best, but we knew it [would be] best solved by a collaborative approach by all parts of the value chain.”
The tale of Tapestry's heritage is closely woven with the history of flagship leathergoods brand Coach, founded in Manhattan in 1941. Prior to 2017, the group was known as Coach, Inc
All credits: Tapestry
