How many hectares of land in Brazil must be cleared for the production of leather, and what does that look like when we consider leather goods?
The Brazilian cattle industry is the main driver of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest
Stand.earth
Most Brazilian deforestation for the cattle industry is illegal.
WWF
Much of this deforestation occurs in Amazonia, where 80% of deforestation is for cattle ranching.
Yale Global Forest Atlas + WWF
CIRCUMFAUNA calculations by Emma Hakansson,
verified by Jo Anderson of Faunalytics
“The Brazilian cattle sector has performed far below its biophysical potential. The observed average productivity is 89 kg per hectare per year. However, biocapacity exceeds 172 kg per hectare per year”
(This report is speaking in terms of beef production only, and in essence, this means that the current amount of beef produced in Brazil is 89kg per hectare per year on cattle-raising land, despite the biological capacity for this number to reach 172kg per hectare per year.)
Royal Society Open Science Publishing
“The current average Brazilian carcass weight is 547.22 lbs.” (248kg)
Oaktrust Library
This is larger than the UNESCO average carcass weight is 143 kg, of which 83% is beef (101kg) and 5% is leather (12.4kg)
UNESCO
Most cows (80%) in Brazil are Zebu breed, a large breed.
Scawfell Genetics
To determine the number of cows slaughtered per hectare per year in Brazil, we apply the UNESCO percentages to average Brazilian carcass sizes, 83% of 248kg is 206kg of beef per animal.
Average beef per animal divided by current productivity per hectare per year (206/ 89kg)
= 2.3 cows per hectare Brazil average
= 2.3 hides per hectare
Zebu hides can be up to 5.5 square metre, and are generally 5 square metres
(We will use 5.5 square metres to be conservative and assume greatest production)
Leather Dictionary: Cow Leather
About 20% of surface of hide is generally wasted, with higher waste for large item production
Leather Dictionary: Leather Cutting Waste
5.5 - (20% of 5.5) = 5.5 - 1.1
= A maximum of 4.4 square metres useable leather per hide
Shoes
An average pair of shoes requires 3-5sq ft of leather, 5-8sq ft for boots
(4 and 6.5 sq ft to be used as averages)
= 0.37 and 0.60sq m
Willy Moc Hand Crafted Shoes For Anyone, Russel Moccasin Co
4.4 / 0.6 = 7.3 pairs of boots from one hide
2.3 hides per hectare x 7.3 pairs of boots per hide = 16.8
= 16.8 pairs of leather boots per hectare
Bags
0.914m2 of leather needed per bag
https://www.collectivefashionjustice.org/articles/carbon-cost-leather-goods
4.4 / 0.914 = 4.02
x 2.3
= 9.24 bags per hectare
Jackets
10–15 sq ft of leather needed per jacket
(12.5 as average = 1.16 sq m)
Moore & Giles Inc
4.4 / 1.16 = 3.79
x 2.3
= 8.72 jackets per hectare
In order to produce less than 9 leather jackets, 1 hectare of land in Brazil must be cleared or kept cleared. It is likely this land was cleared illegally, and that it is land in the biodiverse Amazon Rainforest.
In order to produce less than 17 pairs of leather boots, 1 hectare of land in Brazil must be cleared or kept cleared. It is likely this land was cleared illegally, and that it is land in the biodiverse Amazon Rainforest.
In order to produce less than 10 leather bags, 1 hectare of land in Brazil must be cleared or kept cleared. It is likely this land was cleared illegally, and that it is land in the biodiverse Amazon Rainforest.
Land use of leather alternatives, for comparison:
(Rough considerations)
Synthetics are not land intensive (but have their own issues)
Cork leather doesn’t require trees to be cut down for them to be harvested, with cork harvest allowing for more carbon sequestration by the trees
Desserto cactus leather leather sees native cacti planted, and not cut down for harvest. All cacti are planted on land that was previously barren
Piñatex requires 16 pineapple plants worth of plant leaves for 1m2 of material, and a pineapple plant is normally about 1m wide.
= 16sqm of land needed per sqm of materialMycelium alternatives to leather are grown vertically in warehouses