"Adidas’ most popular sneakers linked to deforestation and modern slavery in Brazil", 16 January 2024

...Adidas created the sneaker-trend of the year. TikTok, Instagram and the streets are full of Adidas’ Samba’s Gazelles and Spezials. But a search for the origin of the leather leads to Brazil, where the hype contributes to the exploitation of workers and the destruction of the Amazon...

Follow the Money discovered in which factory Adidas produces the Gazelle and Spezial sneakers and gained access to the customs declarations of that manufacturer. These documents lead to Asian leather producers and ultimately to Brazilian cowhide producers, who are known for their involvement in the deforestation of the Amazon. Some of the leather also comes from farms with ‘slavery-like’ working conditions...

Together with research organisations SOMO and Stand.Earth, Follow the Money checked hundreds of import declarations from the Shyang Shin Bao group and its suppliers, uncovering the dubious origin of some of the leather used for those popular Adidas sneakers...

But this investigation reveals that Adidas continues to source its leather from suppliers active in areas at risk of deforestation and has been unwilling to stop doing so despite having been made aware of the risks...

The investigation shows that leather for Adidas’ prominent shoes is produced in Brazil by the world’s largest meat producers, like JBS and Minerva, for whom cowhides are a lucrative side business, and cowhide producers like Viposa, Vancouros and Fuga Couros...