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RESOURCES Brazil

Toward promoting human rights and decent working conditions in the leather supply chain

Following consultations among FLA members and affiliates to identify major perceived risks in upstream supply chains, FLA and human rights consultancy Impactt jointly developed a report designed to generate dialogue on effective approaches to promoting human rights and decent working conditions in the leather industry. 

Conducted over six months in 2024, the report presents an overview of the leather industry in Brazil. It profiles both the global leather industry and the leather industry specific to Brazil to determine hot spot areas, understand the nature of labor and human rights issues, map challenges, and identify existing initiatives. As part of the research process, the team studied over 100 unique documents, including research papers and studies, articles, opinion pieces, and media reports, and interviewed 19 stakeholders.

Findings

The report denotes several findings of concern to companies and consumers, including:

Supply chain transparency challenges: A lack of transparency between farms, slaughterhouses, and tanneries results in lost information, low product traceability, undisclosed facilities, and low visibility into working conditions.

Human and labor rights issues: At every stage of the leather production process, workers face significant risks:

  • Slaughterhouses face persistent problems with worker harassment, abuse, mental health issues, gender discrimination, health and safety concerns, and more.
  • Tanneries have known concerns, including exposure to dangerous chemicals, the presence of young workers, temporary jobs, and lack of unions or worker representation.
  • Farms often use informal and inconsistent working arrangements; there are no decent accommodations; and there is a prevalence of low wages and the risk of modern slavery.

Certifications: Existing supplier certifications have a limited focus on working conditions and human rights and do not cover upstream supply chain tiers (slaughterhouses and farms) that pose the highest risk.

Lack of collaboration: The apparel/footwear and meat packaging industries are not collaborating in a structured manner to establish traceability or to ensure human rights due diligence (HRDD) in the full value chain.

Recommendations

The report details four main strategies that companies can adopt for traceability, and layering social and environmental parameters for the upstream supply chain:

  1. Companies invest in their own traceability and human rights environmental due diligence (HREDD) systems and are mostly top-down through their Tier One suppliers. This process is often based on self-declaration.
  2. Companies engage with third-party organizations on traceability and assessments which could use a multitude of techniques either top-down or bottom-up to remediate issues (for example, certification, blockchain, and digital passports).
  3. Companies come together as coalitions within the same sector, or combine several sectors, to focus on supply chain mapping, remediation, and advocacy.
  4. Companies adopt an exit strategy from high-risk countries where they are limited in influencing the sector mainly due to geopolitical reasons. 

In addition, the report details a full list of specific recommendations that companies can employ to achieve these four strategies.