Amazon rainforest: European car manufacturers linked to illegal deforestation, says report

Carmakers like VW, BMW, Daimler, PSA and Renault have been linked to Amazon rainforest deforestation in a new study. It said the firms may be using leather from cattle raised on illegally deforested land for their seats.

Car seats from manufacturers like Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, the PSA group (Peugeot, Citroen, Opel) and Renault could be linked to deforestation, the Rainforest Foundation Norway reported on Friday.

As the leading exporter of bovine leather, Brazil provides about 30% of this material to the global automotive industry. But before turned into car upholstery, the leather may have been removed from cattle raised on land in the Amazon rainforest that was deforested, possibly illegally.

"The purpose of the report is to give an overview of a sector that needs to be studied and that needs transparency," Joana Faggin, the study’s lead author, told DW. "At the moment, no manufacturer can prove that it is not involved in this."

The pace of deforestation is picking up. Last year, the Amazon rainforest lost 11,088 square kilometers (4,280 square miles) of land, the largest area cleared over a yearlong period within the last 12 years, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, INPE.

Cattle farming continues to be the motor driving the logging. More than 90% of deforestation is illegal, and a majority of that land is used for grazing, according to the Brazilian conservation NGO Imazon. Following the path of the animals that are raised on this land is a massive challenge.

"If European consumers want to know where the leather comes from, they will face many difficulties," said Faggin. "This industry has a complex supply chain. It’s very difficult to follow the path of the product after the slaughterhouse."

Leather follows an obscure route