When a Greenpeace report alleging that prominent footwear companies were sourcing leather from illegally deforested areas of Brazil grabbed the headlines in June, not many would have predicted that three months later cooperation between the campaign group and industry would have yielded progress that seems to be to the satisfaction of all parties.

But the fact that the report – Slaughtering the Amazon – which caused embarrassment to companies including Timberland, Clarks and Nike, has fostered such cooperation highlights a key element in achieving higher ethical standards in raw material supply chains: collaboration.

Whether it concerns cotton or soya from Uzbekistan, leather or beef from Brazil, or minerals extraction or cocoa cultivation in west Africa, as companies pursue higher social and environmental standards further down often complex supply chains, cooperation appears to be essential.

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