Cotton used by H&M and Zara linked to illegal deforestation
Brazil's Better Cotton certifies Brazilian cotton based on an assessment by a national cotton producers' association, but Earthsight's report has called this a "serious conflict of interest." Better Cotton has denied any non-compliance issues and stated that further research is needed to determine if these farms comply with the Better Cotton Standard. The report also highlighted that Brazil is the world's second-largest cotton exporter, with most of its cotton grown in the Cerrado, a natural savanna. The report found that about half of the Cerrado's native vegetation has been lost to agribusiness, generating as much carbon per year as the annual emissions of 50 million cars. The Horita Group grows cotton on a plantation found to be one of the largest areas of land grabbed in Brazilian history. A federal law enforcement agency fined Horita $4.5 million for environmental violations between 2010 and 2019, and one of Horita's owners is being investigated for corruption and bribing. SLC has been fined over $250,000 for environmental infractions since 2008 and is accused of violating its zero-deforestation policy.